Munns Honored To Enter Northwestern Hall Of fame
October 03, 2022 | Women's Tennis
Washington women's tennis Associate Head Coach Georgia Munns learned her love of the college game at Northwestern University from 2005-09 where she earned four Big Ten awards and was a two-time All-American in both singles and doubles. Munns (prior to marriage, Georgia Rose) was just the second player in Northwestern program history to qualify for the NCAA singles championship every year of her playing career. She concluded her playing career with a singles record of 125-36, a school record.
Even with all her achievements as a Wildcat, it was still a humbling honor for Munns to be inducted in to the Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame, in a ceremony that took place on Sept. 16 back in Evanston, Ill.
Munns was selected as the 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Player of the Year her sophomore year (2007). She made her presence known quickly and impressively, setting a school record with 29 consecutive wins her freshman year. A year later, Munns advanced to the round of 16 in both the NCAA singles and doubles tournaments, earning a No. 13 national ranking in singles play. In 2009 as a senior, Munns, alongside partner Lauren Lui, reached the quarterfinal round of the NCAA doubles championships.
Washington Athletics sat down with the newly inducted Hall of Famer to ask her about some of Munns' favorite college moments, lessons she learned along the way, and coaching now at Washington.
Before we talk about the Hall of Fame, how was it meeting Venus Williams recently when she was practicing at UW?
It was awesome. Super fun to have her on campus for three days. We got to watch her practices, chat with her coach and physio – it was great.
Did the whole team get to meet her?
No, not everyone was back [on campus]. We had two or three of the girls in town and we got to practice next to her which was really cool. It was awesome to see how many student-athletes came by to watch her practice. She's quite the legend.
What does now being in the Northwestern Hall of Fame mean to you?
It's a reflection on my coaches, my teammates, the support staff that helped us be really successful during my four years. It's much more of a team accolade than anything else. I had some really good teammates playing next to me and pushing me. A lot of our team success is because of them. The culture that we developed, the amount of work we put in, to me, it's a reflection on all of that.
It was an unbelievable four years and I'm really thankful for all of those experiences and thankful to the people I was surrounded by. They all played a huge part in this.
Only one Widcat has ever won 29 matches in a row. Tonight, she joins the Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame.#GoCats | @NUWildcatTennis pic.twitter.com/Zp5heMe69w
— Northwestern Athletics (@NU_Sports) September 17, 2022
What was running through your mind when you first found out you were being inducted?
My coach at Northwestern told me. It was actually right before COVID started, so about two years ago. She let me know, and then obviously the world shut down for two years, so it got postponed. She reached out and let me know what would be happening. I had two teammates prior to me inducted into the Hall of Fame as well.
I was really proud and grateful to them and the committee for choosing me. I was really excited.
What was the Hall of Fame ceremony like?
It was amazing, honestly. There were two other student-athletes also getting inducted that competed – a volleyball player and a lacrosse player -- who played at the same time as me, so I knew them. It was great to reconnect with them.
It was just great to see so many people who had such an influence on my time at Northwestern. My coach is still coaching there so she was a big part of the night. My parents were able to be there along with some of my teammates. My academic advisor was there, so really the best part was just getting to see everyone again. We spent that evening and the next day in the area, too.
When was the last time you were back on Northwestern's campus prior to the ceremony?
We were back last summer just visiting friends. We had the chance to take our two kids around campus and see some of the new facilities, which are unbelievable.
What is an on-court memory during your time at Northwestern that has stuck with you over the years?
I committed to Northwestern with the idea in mind that the program was going to change history and be one of the first northern schools to be number one in the nation – Claire had already had a track record of winning the Big Ten.
I think we were ranked somewhere in the twenties when I came in as a freshman, but I felt like we could really make history there. Honestly my entire freshman year was such a big learning experience – for figuring out how season works, how the rankings work, what exactly it was going to take and what was going to be important for us to focus on to help us move up in the rankings.
I think the two moments that really stood out to me were our loss at NCAAs my freshman year, when that was the end of the season. I had to think back on all that I'd learned from that season and think about how we can change and be better.
My favorite memory is probably my junior year when we got ranked number one for the first time in program history. That was a really cool moment. A ton of hard work had gone into it. That moment was probably one of my most memorable and proudest.
What other schools were you looking at during the recruiting process? What drew you to Northwestern?
I took visits to Vanderbilt, William and Mary, Arkansas, and Northwestern. A big part of my decision was Claire. I thought she did a great job in the recruiting process. I really liked her vision for the program. I knew at the time – we were living in Chicago – that my parents were going to be moving back to England so I felt like I had people in the Chicago area who I could lean on, and it could be a home away from home. Those were the main reasons. I felt that my connection with Claire was great. I felt like she could really develop me as a tennis player and that the opportunities were also at Northwestern.
While having such a great coaching staff during your college career, did you start to think about becoming a coach later on in life?
I didn't really think about it until my senior year. As my senior year went along, I was just figuring out how to adjust as my playing career was coming to an end and deciding what I wanted to do. That was when I had more time to look back and think, wow, this has been an unbelievable experience and I might want to get into this.
I got really lucky that the assistant coaching position at the University of Illinois opened up the summer after I graduated. I immediately jumped on that opportunity and haven't really looked back since.
How do you take the lessons you learned from your Northwestern coaching staff and during your playing career into your coaching at Washington?
My experience was so great, but that doesn't necessarily mean that every day was amazing. There were a lot of challenges, obviously, but a lot of growth. I really appreciate how much Claire helped me through my four years. I think this role – it's a pretty unique four years of these student-athletes' lives. I enjoy the process of helping them. Not just on the court with their tennis but off-court growing, learning, anything.
This environment, the college athletics world, is an unbelievable one. There are so many opportunities and so many resources. I enjoy being part of that. Making sure our student-athletes get the most out of their experience each day.
What brought you to Washington?
My freshman year at NCAAs my coach was very good friends with the University of Alabama coach where Robin [Stephenson, Washington head tennis coach] played. She was a senior my freshman year. We met at NCAAs and we ended up practicing together a little bit. We stayed in touch after that.
My husband got a job out in Seattle at Amazon, so we moved out here. I wasn't expecting to get back into coaching, but realized Robin was the coach here. She reached out and I was really fortunate. I can't believe how lucky I got that we got to reconnect. Here we are, seven or eight years later now. I feel like I'm the luckiest person in the world for this to all have worked out.
UW is an unbelievable place and has every resource to give our student-athletes the best possible experience. I'm very fortunate.
