March 27, 2014
The #28-ranked Georgia Tech women’s tennis team (7-5, 4-2 ACC) welcomes two ACC opponents this weekend to the Ken Byers Tennis Center. On Friday at 3 p.m., the Jackets will face #17 Clemson (14-3, 6-0). Tech and #64 N.C. State (7-6, 1-5 ACC) play on Sunday at noon. Live stats for both matches can be found here.
Home Sweet Home
This will be the first full weekend the Yellow Jackets will play at home after playing nine of their 12 dual matches on the road. Tech is 2-1 at the Ken Byers Tennis Center this season, capturing wins against Old Dominion (4-0) and Wake Forest (5-2).
Winning the Doubles Point
The Yellow Jackets are 6-1 when winning the doubles point this season and 1-4 when losing the doubles point. Tech captured the doubles point against #25 Nebraska, Old Dominion, #27 Tennessee, #22 Notre Dame, #32 Florida State and Maryland. Tech lost to the doubles point to #43 Wake Forest, but won the match. Against #46 Boston College, Tech won the doubles point, but lost the match.
Scouting Clemson
Clemson owns the series record against the Yellow Jackets, 27-9. In the past 12 matches, the Jackets and Tigers have each won six meetings. The last time the Yellow Jackets were victorious against Clemson was on March 3, 2011 after defeating Clemson, 5-2, on their home court. The Tigers have four singles players ranked – #46 Yana Koroleva , #64 Romy Kolzer, #93 Tristen Dewar and #111 Beatrice Gumulya. Koroleva is 6-0 in ACC play and plays on court one. In doubles, #26 Gumulya and Koroleva and #78 Dewar and Koelzer are ranked. Gumulya and Koroleva have gone 9-1 on court one this season.
Looking at the Wolfpack
The Yellow Jackets will look to extend their 18 match winning streak against the Wolfpack on Sunday. Tech leads the overall series 25-12. The Yellow Jackets’ last loss to N.C. State came on March 7, 1998 on the road, 5-4. At the number one singles spot for NC State is Joelle Kissell who has gone 7-6 this season. Elisha Hande and Nicole Martinez pair up to for the Wolfpack’s number one doubles team and have gone 4-5. Before traveling to Atlanta, N.C. State will host Wake Forest on Friday.
Dynamic Doubles Duo
The sophomore doubles duo of Megan Kurey and Kendal Woodard are ranked #4 in the nation in the doubles rankings after debuting this season at the #4 spot. In the Feb. 11th poll, the pair was ranked as the #1 doubles team. The tandem is 8-3 together this spring and had won 14-straight doubles matches together, before a loss to Georgia snapped their winning streak. Kurey and Woodard are 7-3 in their last 10 matches.
Kurey and Woodard won the 2013 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships doubles title in November. The tandem is 22-7 together this year and 9-6 against nationally ranked opponents.
Player of the Week
Sophomore Natasha Prokhnevska was named the ACC Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 18 for the first time in her career after helping Tech defeat #27 Tennessee, 5-2. Prokhnevska’s win at the #2 singles position clinched the victory for the Yellow Jackets, who are 3-1 this season. Prokhnevska defeated Joanna Henderson, 6-4, in the first set. In set two, she battled it out against Henderson to win the set, 7-6 (7-5). In doubles play against the Lady Vols, Prokhnevska paired up with Muriel Wacker to defeat Victoria Olivarez and Eve Repic, 8-3, helping the Jackets win the doubles point.
Facing Ranked Opponents
The #17-ranked Clemson Tigers will be the 11th top-45 opponent the Jackets will face in 13 dual matches. Tech is 5-4 against ranked opponents. Tech has recorded wins against #25 Nebraska (4-0), #27 Tennessee (5-2) , #22 Notre Dame (4-3), #34 Florida State (5-2) and #46 Wake Forest (5-2).
Jackets in the Rankings
The Georgia Tech women’s tennis team checks in at #28 in the most 2014 ITA women’s rankings which was released on March 25. The doubles tandem of Megan Kurey and Kendal Woodard are ranked at #3 in the doubles rankings. Tech’s highest ranking this season was at #19 which was on both January 21 and February 25.
Georgia Tech is one of seven ACC schools that are ranked in the top-30 in the rankings, joining Duke (1), Virginia (3), North Carolina (8), Miami (14), Clemson (17), Notre Dame (24) and Georgia Tech (28).
National Champions
The #47-ranked sophomore doubles duo of Megan Kurey and Kendal Woodard capped off an impressive fall season by winning the 2013 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships doubles title. Kurey and Woodard captured the national indoor doubles title on Nov. 10, 2013 after defeating Louisville’s Julia Fellerhoff and Rebecca Shine in the championship match.
The tandem went 14-4 this fall and owned an impressive 7-3 record against nationally ranked opponents. The duo finished off the season on a nine-match winning streak, including three straight victories during national indoors on their way to the national doubles title. Kurey and Woodard also won the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Doubles Title in the fall.
Follow the Jackets
Fans are encouraged to follow Georgia Tech women’s tennis on Twitter, @GT_WTEN, and like the Yellow Jackets on Facebook, GTWomensTennis, for an inside look at the program.
Next Up
The Yellow Jackets head to the state of Virginia to face Virginia on Saturday, April 5 at 12 p.m. and Virginia Tech on Sunday, April 6 at 12 p.m.
