Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina sophomore standout Jade Groen finds herself in rarified air as she was today named the Southern Conference's Women's Tennis Player of the Month for March voted on and released by the conference office.
A product of The Netherlands, Groen is one of only two Catamounts to earn SoCon Women's Tennis Athlete of the Month honors all time. She joins Jordan Strickland who collected the honor back in 2018 as the Cary, N.C., native ran through her competition in February of that year, finishing the month with an impressive 9-1 overall record.
Primarily playing on the No. 2 singles court, Groen notched a 5-2 solo record overall last month, ending the slate by rattling off five consecutive wins. Four of those victories were in conference play and all five came in straight sets. Of her two losses in March, only one came on the second court as she took No. 35 Wake Forest's Brooke Killingsworth to three sets.
Groen was nearly as impressive on the doubles courts as she and her partner Madison Schwarz compiled a 4-2 record on the second court throughout March. The Catamount duo recorded conference victories over UNCG, Mercer, and Samford and a non-conference win over mountain-rival UNC Asheville.
Overall, Groen put together an impressive 9-3 record between doubles and singles on the second court last month, highlighted by her 7-1 record in SoCon play.
Western Carolina and Groen are back in action later this afternoon (Friday) as the Catamounts host the Wofford Terriers at 1 p.m. at the on-campus Catamount Athletics Complex. Fans can catch the reigning SoCon Player of the Month and the rest of the Purple and Gold on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) by clicking the link here: https://tinyurl.com/ftwmd846
WCU Women's Tennis All-Time Players of the Month
Jordan Strickland – February 2018
Jade Groen – March 2024
For the latest information on Catamount women's tennis, follow @catamounts or @catamountTennis on Twitter or go to www.catamountsports.com. In-match updates are on the Catamount women's tennis official tennis Twitter page.
