Kurdadze, Levy Named To All-Louisiana Women's Tennis Team
Jun 3, 2010 | Women's Tennis
June 3, 2010
NEW ORLEANS - Tulane University women's tennis standouts Mariam Kurdadze and Emma Levy were named first- and second-team All-Louisiana, respectively, the Louisiana Sports Writers Association announced on Thursday.
The honor is the second of Kurdadze's career as she claimed first-team All-Louisiana and LSWA Freshman of the Year honors a year ago. Levy's honor, meanwhile, was the first of her collegiate career. The All-Louisiana honors were the second of the 2010 postseason for the Green Wave duo as Kurdadze claimed first-team All-Conference USA honors while Levy second-team All C-USA recognition back on May 5.
A sophomore from Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, Kurdadze earned first-team All-Louisiana honors after posting a team-best 26-9 singles record for the year, including an 18-4 record in dual-match play and a 4-2 mark in C-USA action. She is currently ranked the No. 6 singles player in the Southern Region in the latest ITA Regional standings. All of her spring results came at the No. 1 position and her 18 wins and .818 winning percentage at the No. 1 spot ranks second among C-USA players with more than three appearances atop the teams' respective lineups.
Of her 26 wins, 20 came in straight sets, including a 6-0, 6-0 win over UAB's Evelien Strijker in the first round of the C-USA Tournament. She was selected to participate in the prestigious Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championship during the fall, had a four-match winning streak from Sept. 19-26 and from Jan. 22-Feb. 10, a five-match winning streak from march 22-April 22, and a six-match streak from March 6-20.
Levy, meanwhile, was named second-team All-Louisiana after finishing second on the team with a 21-10 singles record for the 2009-10 season, including a 15-6 dual-match record while tying for the team lead with a 4-2 mark in league play. A freshman from Princeton Junction, N.J., Levy just one of two C-USA rookies to play all of their dual matches in the top half of the lineup - joining Memphis' Courtney Collins, who went 17-9 (.653) at No. 2 for the Tigers.
Her .714 winning percentage ranks fifth in the conference among freshmen and her 15 dual-match wins sits sixth among league rookies. The No. 11 singles player in the Southern Region in the latest ITA regional standings, Levy began the spring as Tulane's No. 3 player where she went 4-1 before finishing the season by going 11-5 at No. 2. Of her 21 wins, 16 came in straight sets and Levy twice limited her opponent to just two sets (6-0, 6-2 vs. Camille Pilon of Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 6 and 6-1, 6-1 vs. Paula Alvarez of UAB in the first round of the C-USA Tournament on April 22). Levy had a six-match winning streak from Nov. 6-Feb. 10 and again from Feb. 27-March 17.
In doubles, the tandem of Kurdadze and Levy posted an 18-11 record for the year, including a 12-6 mark in dual-match action and a 4-2 record in C-USA play. All 18 of their dual-match doubles outings came at the No. 1 position where the duo posted a four-match winning streak from March 6-17 and a six-match streak from Nov. 7-Feb. 12. The combo also won the Flight Doubles Draw at the Alonti Cougar Fall Draw in Houston on Nov. 7-8.
2010 LSWA WOMEN'S TENNIS ALL-LOUISIANA TEAMS
First Team
Claire Clark / Louisiana-Monroe / Jr. / Bossier City, La.
Keri Frankenberger / LSU / Fr. / Gainesville, Fla.
Mariam Kurdadze / Tulane / So. / Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia
Kathrin Lange / Northwestern State / Jr. / Emmingen, Germany
Anestesia Opata / Xavier / Sr. / Lawrenceville, Ga.
Martina Rubesova / Northwestern State / So. / Usti na Laben, Czech Republic
Second Team
Kaitlin Burns / LSU / Fr. / Wilmington, N.C.
Margane Dadot / Southeastern Louisiana / So. / Reunion, France
Angelina Callis / Xavier / Sr. / Los Angeles, Calif.
Emma Levy / Tulane / Fr. / Princeton Junction, N.J.
Florina Nosca / Nicholls State / Jr. / Bralia, Romania
Vivian Polak / Louisiana-Monroe / Jr. / Barendrecht, Netherlands
Bianca Schultz / Northwestern State / Jr. / Ballinger, Germany
Whitney Wolf / LSU / So. / Pride, La.
Honorable Mention
Audrey Chelini / Southeastern Louisiana / So. / Bordeaux, France
Vivian ten Dolle / Louisiana Tech / Fr. / Gelderland, Netherlands
Monica Winkel / Louisiana-Monroe / So. / Bornaire, Netherlands Antilles
Natalia Zamora / Nicholls State / Jr. / Pueblo, Mexico
Player of the Year - Martina Rubesova, Northwestern State
Freshman of the Year - Keri Frankenberger, LSU
Newcomer of the Year - Martina Rubesova, Northwestern State
Coach of the Year - Patric DuBois, Northwestern State
Players Mentioned
