Sept. 28, 2009

NEW ORLEANS - Tulane University women's tennis standout Mariam Kurdadze has earned a bid to participate in the prestigious Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced Monday.

A sophomore from Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, Kurdadze earned a bid to the pre-qualifier beginning on Saturday, Oct. 3, on the campus of UCLA in Westwood, Calif. The two-day pre-qualifying rounds conclude on Oct. 4, and if Kurdadze can pick up a pair of wins, she will advance to the qualifying rounds, which are slated for Oct. 6-7 at the Riviera Tennis Club. If she can post another two wins in the qualifier, Kurdadze will begin play in the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championship on Oct. 8 in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

"We're really thrilled for Mariam," Tulane head women's tennis coach Terri Sisk said. "She's been so diligent and she's worked so hard. Last year was a break-out year for her going 19-5 in singles and having all those honors bestowed upon her. She's a workhorse, really. She's got that fire and she is a true competitor in every sense of the word. This just kind of caps everything for her.

"When she found out a couple of days ago, she was so proud and began eyeing it. She's already looking at the draw, looking at who's in it, pulling them off the internet. She's doing everything that true competitors do. They look up their competitors and find out what they need to know. We're really excited for her."

As a true freshman last year, Kurdadze posted a 19-5 record in singles action and a 14-8 showing in doubles play en route to earning Louisiana Sports Writers Association Freshman of the Year, first-team All-Conference USA and first-team All-Louisiana honors. She went 10-3 at No. 1 singles while recording a 9-2 mark at No. 2 Kurdadze opened the Spring 2008 season with five straight wins and later had a nine-match winning streak from Feb. 13 through March 17.

She suffered flu-like symptoms during a two-match skid, but bounced back to win the final four singles contests she completed the remainder of the year. In doubles play, Kurdadze was 7-6 at No. 1 and 7-2 at No. 2. She started 4-1 in doubles play and had a six-match winning streak from Feb. 13 through March 12.

So far this fall, she is 4-2 in singles play, including a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 win over SMU's Aleksandra Malyarchikova - the No. 96 singles player in the county in the preseason ITA rankings - last Saturday at the Rice Classic in Houston, Texas.

"We're proud for Mariam but we're also proud for Tulane because the program is going to get that exposure again," Sisk said. "This is just the beginning. Having Mariam go this year, we hope to have a couple go next year and just keep adding to that every year so that Tulane is a staple in that draw for years to come."

Following Kurdadze's stint in the Riviera/ITA Championship, the Green Wave will enjoy a bit of a break before returning to action on Oct. 23-26, when they travel to Auburn, Ala., for the ITA Southern Regionals. From there, Tulane will close out the fall portion of its schedule at the Cougar Fall Draw from Nov. 6-8, in Houston, Texas.

Tennis Links

Follow the Green Wave