Tulane Quotes Previewing The Roberta Alison Fall Classic
Sep 23, 2010 | Women's Tennis
Sept. 23, 2010
Head Coach Terri Sisk
On This Weekend's Roberta Alison Fall Classic
"We always look forward to this tournament. Alabama does such a great job hosting this event. There are a lot of really, really talented and quality teams in this. This will be a good test for us. We started out strong last week in Memphis and this draw will be a bit tougher. We're just looking to see how we compete and how react to certain situations."
On Her Team's Performance Last Week And How It Can Help This Weekend
"Last weekend, we knew we were going to do a good job. I was confident that the team was ready and that they were in a great position to win. After that first day when we started out with a 15-2 tally for the day, we were on our way. We talked so much about coming out and being a dominant team, and we did just that. The second day got a little tougher and the third day, obviously, is always the toughest. It really was a long, grinding tournament. But they started out strong, they finished strong, and they did everything that we asked them to do. We can always use that as a momentum and a confidence builder for this weekend. Like I said, this weekend will be a little bit tougher so we'll going to look to see how we stack up against these kinds of teams."
On Mariam Kurdadze Attaining A Preseason Singles Ranking By The ITA
"Mariam is a great competitor. She truly is the heartbeat of this team. In the fall of 2008 when we brought the girls back, we talked a lot about what this team used to be, what the team is now and what it's going to be. They realized they had really some big shoes to fill as the 2005 team coming in at No. 9 in the country. We've talked so much about baby steps and doing things the right way, and I think this is just one more piece of the puzzle. Mariam coming in at No. 107 preseason is a huge step for us and for her because it puts Tulane back on that national map. It sort of says, `Hey, you know what? We are coming back one piece at a time.' We're thrilled for her. She deserves it. The whole team deserves it. They're working hard. They have one common goal and that's to be a nationally-ranked program and to resurge as a nationally Top 20 team."
On Her Team's Goals For The Fall And How It May Help In The Spring
"Our goals are - and there really are so many of them, but the one I chose right now to speak about - to really go out there, chose do your best, chose to win and chose to give 100 percent effort. With any kind of athlete in any sport, it really does come down to choosing how good you want to be. I tell the girls all the time, you've got to go out there and you've got to want to win. No matter what it takes, you've got to want to win. That's what we're looking for. The more we learn to want to win and the more we do all those little things helps us in the spring. Obviously, the spring is the best part of the season because that's when it really counts. But this is a great opportunity to make sure that we understand how much it's going to take, how bad we want it and obviously we want to win in the end."
Junior Mariam Kurdadze
On Earning The No. 107 Single Ranking In The Preseason ITA Poll
"Of course it's a great honor to get ranked this year, especially after coming back from Katrina. It's motivating to me and my team to get ranked after the program was shut down following the hurricane. We're very excited about the ranking."
On The Team's Overall Performance Last Week At The Memphis Collegiate Invitational
"We definitely started off strong at the Memphis Tournament. The whole team did very well. That first day, we had a good record with only 12 losses and 27 wins. Everybody did their best. As Coach talked, from the beginning we have to push harder. We won two singles draws with Lindsay and Marcela, and Jessica and Sharon won their doubles flight, so it was a good start."
On This Weekend's Roberta Alison Fall Classic
"We're really excited about this upcoming tournament. We're looking to make sure we don't make the same mistakes in the last tournament, and hopefully we can start off strong once again. It's really good to start back these preseason tournaments as a team. I think everyone is in really good shape this year."
Players Mentioned
