Georgia Southern women's tennis is in the middle of one of the best stretches in school history, capping a tremendous 2023 season with a program-first ITA national ranking and a record-tying 19 wins.
The Eagles have won 50 matches over the last three seasons, which is the most in a three-year stretch for the program, topping the 49 wins from 1980-82. And Georgia Southern has been nearly unbeatable at the Wallis Tennis Center in that stretch, going 28-5 at home.
Earning a first ITA National Ranking of No. 74 in March, the Eagles continued to play impressive tennis down the stretch, handing James Madison its only Sun Belt loss of the season with a 4-3 win over the Dukes on April 14. Georgia Southern then earned a third trip to the Sun Belt semfinals in the last four tournaments with a thrilling come-from-behind 4-3 win over App State that saw the Eagles trail the Mountaineers by a 3-0 deficit and included fighting off eight match points.
Head Coach Sean McCaffrey looks back at what was a tremendous season but also gives us a glimpse at what the 2024 season will look like for the ascending Eagle women's tennis program!
This team accomplished a lot during the season - first ITA national ranking, tying school record for wins and completing a memorable comeback in the Sun Belt Tournament. What are some of the things that stood out for you with this team?
"Overall I am very proud of the work we put in this past year. A few things non tennis related is that we accomplished the GPA that we had hoped to achieve as we ended with a 3.77 on the year. This really shows that the women and the program as a whole is deeply dedicated to doing their best off the court. We are also extremely proud of the effort the women have put into making sure they are trying to develop themselves professionally...their involvement with our APEX program as well as their continued high level of service to the community show that we are embracing a holistic student-athlete approach as we help these young women develop.
"On the tennis side I am beyond proud of the job the entire team put in over the last year. Our goal from the start was to not only strengthen the bond of our program but to also assist in helping the women become more resilient on the court and in competition, as well as mentally tougher. This was our main focus from the beginning and we all understood that the results would simply be just that...results. We could not control our final record, nor could we control if we won or lost. But we did learn that our own resiliency, along with mental toughness, would go a long way towards giving ourselves opportunities for positive results.
"We always want to have the chance to play on the final day of the season, and in the championship. We had three regular season losses we wish we had the opportunity to "do over", yet that is not how things work and instead we found ways of carrying forward the lessons we learned early on in the season in those loses.
"Earning our first national ranking was great, and earning 19 wins on the season was also a nice feather in the cap. However, what I am most excited for is watching our three first year women come through in the most important match of the year and demonstrate to everyone what Georgia Southern "resiliency" and that "relentless" attitude is all about. Knowing that being resilient has been our calling card for the last six years and seeing torch passed along to the younger women really gives me a ton of excitement for where this program is going."
The new Sun Belt Conference looks like it's one of the strongest mid-major leagues in the nation, yet your team tied for third in the league standings and handed JMU it's only league loss. What do you think is the future for this team and this league?
"This conference is very strong. I believe that if teams scheduled a little differently we could very well see the Sun Belt as a two bid league for NCAA's. I know it's something I'll be trying to push for and work towards. Finishing third and defeating eventual runner-up James Madison was great. It was one of the high points of our season. But we really could not control where we finished overall in the conference standings, as not everyone played each other...we could only control, or hope to control how prepared we were for the conference tournament. And I feel as if we were in a great place heading into SBC's. Out of the final four in the tournament we were the only original SBC program in the final four. ODU, JMU, and Marshall all had great seasons and did great down the stretch. Now that we know what these new teams look like and how they play, I feel confident in how we will prepare for those programs, and the other 13 teams in the league."
You lose only one student-athlete on the court, but Liv will still be a part of the program next year, meaning everyone returns in some form or fashion. How far can this team go next year?
Adding Liv to the team this year was simply fantastic. My goal from the start was to find someone, as a graduate transfer, who could immediately add a level of maturity and leadership to a pretty young squad. She was a leader on and off the court. However she never attempted to "take over" the team. She only added positivity, optimism and a healthy fighting spirit to the team. Having the opportunity to secure Liv and her wonderful coaching and leadership attributes for next year, along with a fantastic staff, including Jana, Justin, and Kaitlyn, sets this team up for continued success. We are also so very impressed with the level of support we have had from our Mental Performance professionals. This year our Sport Psychology GA's (Cora and Ty) really stepped up and provided much needed support and guidance as we all tried to develop.
Our focus for 2023/2024 will be increasing the level of physicality we bring to our training. We truly believe that with increased physicality, strength, power, and speed, it will result in an increase in mental toughness and preparedness for an already mentally stronger and resilient squad. And bringing back everyone else on the roster and in the starting line-up will really provide a great deal of momentum going into fall 2023.
Any final words for Eagle Nation about this past season or the next?
Oftentimes we get so caught up in the day to day efforts within the program that we forget to thank those that allow this experience to happen for all of us. We are so thankful for a supportive and caring administration as well as a dedicated and generous Athletic Foundation. Our program simply would not have the success they have experienced over the last few years without the countless people behind the scenes that allow the women to shine!
