Issue date: 2/22/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Dan Fletcher/The Daily Northwestern Junior Georgia Rose, coming off a year in which she was named an All-American and the Big Ten Player of the Year, currently sits third in the national singles rankings. She leads the No. 2 Wildcats into three big duals this weekend in North Carolina.

Where is the best place to start playing tennis? The home of Wimbledon sounds like a good answer.

For reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Georgia Rose, England is where it all began. It was there that Rose started playing tennis at age six.

"My mom played and coached tennis so I just started playing mostly because of her, and then I just kept playing and feel in love with it," Rose said.

Even though Rose's mother coached, she also was a swimmer for England's national team. Meanwhile, Rose's father played semi-pro soccer for England.

Rose could have chose swimming or soccer, but decided that tennis would be the best route for her.

Rose's choice has turned out great so far. Since her freshman year, when she was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the ITA Midwest Freshman of the Year while recording a 26-5 record, Rose has been fierce on the court.

Rose's game has improved each season, and now that she is a junior, her game has developed considerably.

"I think my game is more aggressive now, but it is the same type of game style I like to play, which involves a lot of running and working hard and just making my opponent miss before I do."

One person who's had a role in Rose's growth is coach Claire Pollard.

"Claire has definitely developed my game a lot, especially in doubles," Rose said. "I am a lot more confident now in doubles and am just becoming more aggressive and developing a bigger forehand. We spent a lot of summers just working on my forehand so I am ready for the season."

Rose is currently the No. 3 singles player in the nation, but she is also proud to be a member of a team that is ranked second in the nation heading into duals against No. 5 North Carolina, No. 8 Duke and Princeton this weekend in North Carolina.

"I am really fortunate to be on such a great team," Rose said. "Since freshman year, I have just really enjoyed traveling and being apart of the atmosphere here. We have given ourselves a chance to win the NCAAs each year, and I think this year we are really ready."

Rose has won tennis awards since she was a young child, but there is one award missing from her collection: an NCAA championship.

Last season, Rose qualified for the NCAA tournament in both singles and doubles and made it as far as the round of 16 in singles, where she lost a tough three-set match to Stanford's Lindsay Burdette. But she still earned All-America honors.

And with the team playing well at 8-1, including a win over No. 1 Georgia Tech, she sees great reason for optimism.

"I think this is the best start to a season that we have ever had, especially in my (three) seasons here," Rose said. "I think we have really set ourselves up to be successful this year, and we always want to keep improving, so I know we will be ready in May," Rose said.

c-mayweather@northwestern.edu

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