There is no doubt that being well-known internationally benefits Tech. Such success is plain to see in academics and athletics. Sophomore Paige Hourigan from Turakina, New Zealand, is a great example of an international athlete who brought the Jackets success. One of two international athletes on Tech’s women’s tennis team, Hourigan has been a prominent name in news headlines since coming to Tech.
Outside of Tech athletics, Hourigan is most well known for her victory at the New Zealand Junior Championships in both singles and doubles as well as her appearance in the 2013 ASB Classic and the Junior Australian Open. She aided St. Kentigern College in gaining a national title, earned a ranking of No. 175 in the International Tennis Federation and participated in competitions around the world before making her collegiate debut at Tech.
Hourigan brought her success to Tech, winning 25 out of 37 singles matches and 25 out of 32 doubles matches in her first season as a Jacket. The most important success to Tech students and alumni was Hourigan’s victories against the University of Georgia during the Bulldog Classic with wins in doubles and three in singles.
Paired with Rasheeda McAdoo, Hourigan opened her first season at Tech with five straight wins in doubles matches. After sweeping the Yellow Jacket Invitational, Hourgian, along with McAdoo, was named the doubles MVP.
Hourigan carried her success on the court into the spring season. Being paired with a new doubles partner, Kendal Woodard, for the spring season did not throw her off her game. They worked together on the court like a well-oiled machine: the pair went 16-4 in doubles during the
spring season.
Hourigan and Woodard then moved on to the NCAA Championship. Although Hourigan fell in both her doubles and singles matches during NCAA championships, she finished her debut season as a Jacket ranked No. 52 in singles and No. 24 in doubles in the ITA Rankings.
Hourigan refuses to let any NCAA losses weigh her down; she entered the 2015 fall season
with highs hopes of going all the way in the spring 2016 NCAA championship.
Picked out as the No. 7 doubles team in the preseason rankings, Hourigan and Woodard are looking to generate the same success that earned them weekly features in the ITA rankings almost every week during the spring season. The duo opened the first tournament of this season with good momentum by defeating Olaya Garrida-Rivas and Sofiko Kadhaya of TCU 8-2. However, they lost their final two matches of the weekend.
Suffering some earlier losses hasn’t prevented the pair from looking forward to time on
the court.
“We got a preseason ranking No. 7, and we were pretty excited when it came out, but we know that we can be No. 1. When we were ranked No. 20 last year, we knew that we should have won the NCAA Championship.” Hourigan courtesy of ramblinwreck.com. “We know we’re a good team. We just have to keep working hard and doing the little things right to make sure that we execute and beat the teams that we should beat.”
After getting a taste of defeat, the pair is even more determined to leave the NCAA Championship in the spring as victorious. With some time to practice before the championship and a successful track record, there is no doubt that the pair could leave the championships with another victory for Tech.