May 13, 2014
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina women’s tennis assistant coach Georgia Rose has been named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Carolina Region Assistant Coach of the Year, the ITA announced Tuesday.
“Georgia has been instrumental in the process of culture change,” head coach Kevin Epley said. “She has spent 100s of hours on the court in additional individual practice hours and has brought a very effective combination of toughness and an ability to relate to the players. Georgia has very high standards and a great tennis IQ. She has been a pivotal force in transition.”
This past season, Rose helped the Gamecocks reach the NCAA Tournament for the 20th consecutive year. South Carolina posted a 17-11 record overall and finished 6-7 in the SEC. The Gamecocks’ 17 wins were the most since the 2009 and 2010 squads also won 17. Rose also assisted in coaching Elixane Lechemia to first-team All-SEC status, making Lechemia just the fifth Gamecock in school history to achieve the honor. Lechemia was named team MVP as well and qualified for the NCAA Doubles Championship alongside Dominika Kanakova. As a team, South Carolina is currently ranked 30th and has been ranked as high as 28th this season.
Rose joined the South Carolina women’s tennis program in December 2012 after spending three seasons with Illinois. She joined the Illini staff less than four months after graduating from Northwestern following a standout career, and in her final year garnered ITA Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year accolades after helping the Illini to an 18-8 finish.
As a player, the Mettawa, Ill., native began her Northwestern career with an overall record of 38-8, including a perfect 13-0 in the Big Ten, en route to ITA Midwest Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors in 2006. She also compiled 29 consecutive singles wins, breaking the previous school record of 28.
Rose concluded her career a four-time All-American with 125 singles wins, including a 29-2 mark in the Big Ten. She was named ITA Midwest Regional Senior of the Year in 2009, ending the season ranked No. 21 nationally in singles and No. 13 in doubles after advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships.
Additionally, Rose helped lead the Wildcats to four straight Big Ten titles and a final national ranking of No. 2 in 2008 and 2009. She also was only the second player in school history to qualify for the NCAA Singles Championship all four years.
Rose has been ranked as high as No. 84 on the International Tennis Federation circuit (2002) and participated in both the U.S. Open Juniors and Australian Open Juniors. She was the 2004-05 Care Academy Player of the Year and was ranked No. 699 in the International Tennis Federation rankings and No. 882 in the WTA. She won the 2009 N Club Achievement Award, given to the student-athlete who exhibits the qualities of good citizenship, significant academic achievement and outstanding athletic performance.
