Paige Hourigan is writing a new chapter in her already impressive CV. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
Paige Hourigan is writing a new chapter in her already impressive CV. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
Wanganui tennis powerhouse Paige Hourigan is now strutting her stuff on the tough United States college circuit after securing a full scholarship to Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
After leaving St Kentigern College in Auckland earlier this year, Hourigan's parents, Tracy and Phil, decided to send her on the professional circuitplaying predominantly in Australia and China, but she struggled without a travelling coach.
"We couldn't afford to send a coach with her and she just wasn't ready for the pro circuit without one," Tracy Hourigan said from her home in Turakina yesterday.
"She was all alone and it was horrible for her, but she's such a positive person and stuck to it. In April, we talked about scholarships in the US and, while she wasn't that keen, we went looking. To secure scholarships, you have six months from leaving school to apply and, when we decided, we only had two months left, so it was a bit of a rush."
However, once word got out she was hunting down a college, Hourigan's reputation already preceded her and the offers came thick and fast.
"We couldn't believe it. All of a sudden we had about 20 or so offers so we sat down and looked through them. Paige is really intent on going pro and a college scholarship in the US is a good way to prepare. We finally decided on Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
"The tennis conferences around that area are the strongest in the US and Georgia Tech is one of the strongest on the college circuit.
"Her coach, Rodney Harmon, is also one of the best. He was only the second black man to reach the quarter-finals of a US Open, so his own record is great. His training regime is brilliant and he's got Paige looking awesome - she's really strengthened up.
"He was initially thinking of putting her in the team at No4, but, in her first tournament, he put her in at No2 in singles and No1 in doubles."
The first tournament was the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Invitational at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex just last week against three other strong colleges. "Paige won all three of her doubles matches and two of her singles and lost one. That loss was her first match since April - I was so proud of her."
The 17-year-old is studying chemical engineering at Georgia Tech and the workload is three times what she was used to back home in New Zealand.
"She's struggling a bit and up studying til 11 or 12 most nights. She said she may change degrees, but my wish is that she stays the full four years at Georgia Tech. It's ranked the seventh best public university in the States," Hourigan said.
Hourigan's family are all looking forward to Christmas when their daughter and sibling will return home for the holidays.
Hourigan has a career-high ranking of 175 in the International Tennis Federation rankings, an overall career singles record of 48-29 and career doubles record of 45-26. During the early part of the 2014 season, she took part in numerous international tournaments.
