June 23, 2016
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Head Coach Geoff Macdonald and the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team are pleased to announce that Emma Kurtz will be joining the Commodores this fall. Kurtz will be joining Christina Rosca as a member of the Vanderbilt 2016 signing class.
“Emma is a superb athlete,” said Macdonald “we think she’s going to be a tremendous player here at Vanderbilt. She sees the court really well, and I think that comes from a background in playing soccer. We saw her as one of the best players, top-five players in the class, so we’re thrilled to have her.”
“Emma was actually born in Nashville and both of her parents are really great athletes. Her dad played soccer in South Carolina at the College of Charleston and her mom was a very good tennis player. She’s really mature young woman and a superb student.”
A five-star recruit out of Atlanta, Ga., Kurtz is ranked No. 14 in the nation, No. 5 in the Southeast and No. 1 in the state of Georgia by tennisrecruiting.net (6/22). Kurtz trained at the Stephen Diaz Tennis Academy and comes to Vanderbilt with a 63-13 juniors record. Against other five-star recruits, Kurtz holds a 30-4 all-time record and is undefeated against four and three star recruits.
Graduating early to pursue her dreams of collegiate tennis, the 5’10” right-hander has met all NCAA standards and will bring athletic play to a strong Commodore lineup. After a fantastic showing in the Orange Bowl International Championships, the Vanderbilt coaching staff sees Kurtz bringing much needed power to the ‘Dores doubles play.
“I am extremely excited and grateful for the chance to enroll early in Vanderbilt,” said Kurtz. “The decision to attend college a year early will provide plenty of challenges not only on-court, but also in the classroom. I am looking forward to facing and overcoming these challenges. In addition, I can’t wait to become part of an outstanding tennis program and improve my tennis game, become a great teammate, and learn infinite amounts of knowledge from my new coaches and teammates. Honestly, there is no other place I could imagine myself being for the next four years and the fact that I can start one year early is simply thrilling!”
