Women's Tennis To Participate In ITA All-American
Oct 1, 2010 | Women's Tennis
Oct. 1, 2010
NEW ORLEANS - Junior Mariam Kurdadze and sophomore Emma Levy will represent the Tulane University women's tennis team in the most prestigious fall tournament in the nation on Saturday, Oct. 2, when the Green Wave pair participates in the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championship on the campus of UCLA in Westwood, Calif.
The Green Wave pair earned pre-qualifying spots in the invitation-only tournament based on their respective performances a year ago. Kurdadze will face Virginia's Erin Vierra in singles play at the L.A. Tennis Center, while Levy will take on UCLA's Pamela Montez at the Sycamore Courts. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 11:45 a.m. The pair will also participate in the Women's All-American doubles pre-qualifier where the duo will battle Alina Jerjomina and Alex Anghelescu of Georgia later in the day.
A native of Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, Kurdadze enters the ITA Women's All-American ranked the No. 107 singles player in the nation according to the season-opening poll and is 4-2 so far in Fall 2010. After going 1-2 in the season-opener at the String 'n Swing Memphis Collegiate Invitational, Kurdadze won her first two contests at last weekend's Roberta Alison Fall Classic and advanced to the championship match of the Serena Williams Draw.
For her career, Kurdadze is 49-16 in singles play, including a 26-9 record as a sophomore in 2009-10 when she was 8-5 in tournament action and 18-4 atop the Tulane lineup during the spring.
Levy, meanwhile, is also 4-2 in singles play and is coming off a 3-0 performance at the Alison Classic where she won the Venus Williams Draw courtesy of a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Alabama's Antonia Foehse in the championship match. A native of Princeton Junction, N.J., Levy now 25-12 in singles play during her young career.
Standouts in their own right individually, the Kurdadze/Levy doubles tandem has been even better during the fall season and is currently tied with Jessica Lange and Sharon Siegel for the team lead with a 5-1 pairs showing. After going 2-1 in the Memphis Invite, Kurdadze and Levy swept the Wimbledon Draw at the Roberta Alison Fall Classic to claim the flight championship.
Played together exclusively since the beginning of the 2009-10 season, Kurdadze and Levy enter the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championship with a lifetime record of 21-12, including an 11-5 mark in tournament play.
In singles action, Kurdadze and Levy must win three rounds to advance to the qualifying rounds of the ITA Women's All-American, and the duo must do the same in doubles to advance. From there, the qualifying rounds are slated for Oct. 5-6, in Riviera, Calif.
The Green Wave return to full-team competition on Friday, Oct. 8, when they open play in the Rice Classic in Houston. The Rice Classic is the third of five fall tournaments on the Tulane schedule as the team is also slated to play in the ITA Regional Championship from Oct. 22-24 in Birmingham, Ala., and the Lakewood Ranch Clay Court Classic on Nov. 12-14 in Tampa, Fla.
Players Mentioned
