Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina junior Jade Groen earned the early-season spotlight on Tuesday, named the Southern Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week as selected and announced by the league office from nominations submitted by communications and media relations staff from each sponsoring conference member.
The weekly honor is her first of the season and the second of her career as she garnered weekly praise in February 2023. The last Catamount to earn the award before Groen was Jacy Smith who did so in March of 2020.
Groen is one of just six Catamount women's tennis players to earn SoCon weekly plaudits dating back to 2000. She is also just one of two WCU student-athletes to earn multiple weekly awards, joining Jacy Smith who was honored in 2019 and 2020, both with a pair of honors in their respective careers.
This week's award comes after an impressive undefeated week for both Groen and the Catamounts as the team racked up a 5-1 win on the road at Davidson and a 6-0 sweep at home over the Tusculum Pioneers. The Dutch product was an integral piece of WCU's two wins on the week, compiling four wins and an unblemished record across her two match appearances.
In a move up from a season ago, Groen commanded the top court in both matches in singles play, putting together a pair of straight-set victories over Davidson's Charlotte Calderwood and Tusculum's Elodie Bachler. She outscored her opponents 24-7 on the singles courts, never allowing more than three points in any set.
In doubles play, Groen and partner Chloe Schwarz went 2-0 with a couple 6-2 victories in the No. 1 pairing. The duo was the first to earn a doubles win over Davidson as the Catamounts also claimed victory on court three to earn the point. They were the final pairing to finish their match with Tusculum, as WCU posted a clean 5-0 doubles record for the week.
Groen is now 6-2 collectively on the season with her record split evenly at 3-1 across singles and doubles play. She holds a 2-1 record on the top court with her sole loss coming in the Catamounts' season-opening match with then-12th-ranked Auburn.
The Catamounts are back in action this weekend as they host mountain-rival Appalachian State on Saturday, Feb. 8, and Presbyterian on Sunday, Feb. 9. First serve is set for 1 p.m. and Noon, respectively, this weekend.
For the latest information on Catamount women's tennis, follow @catamounts or @catamountTennis on Twitter or go to www.catamountsports.com.
Western Carolina – All-Time SoCon Weekly Awards:
March 25, 2003 – Shannon Zalinski
April 7, 2010 – Karen Jiminez Sarimento
March 11, 2015 – Megan McLinden
March 1, 2016 – Stacia Kissell
March 19, 2019 – Jacy Smith
March 10, 2020 – Jacy Smith
Feb. 28, 2023 – Jade Groen
Feb. 4, 2025 – Jade Groen
