Women's Tennis
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- gmunns@uw.edu
A four-time collegiate All-American and a Northwestern Athletics Hall of Famer, Georgia Munns enters her tenth season with the Husky program in 2023-24, having spent time as both a volunteer assistant and assistant coach under Head Coach Robin Stephenson before being elevated to Associate Head Coach prior to the start of the 2019-20 season.
Washington advanced to the NCAA Championships for the fourth time under Stephenson and Munns in the 2023 season, and it marked UW's first back-to-back tourney appearances since the 2008-11 run. The Dawgs knocked off Arkansas in the NCAA first round and finished the season ranked in the Top-25, at No. 21, with a season-high No. 16 ranking. Four different Dawgs were ranked in singles during the season.
In 2022, Washington again reached the NCAA tournament under Stephenson and Munns. The Huskies qualified for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships for the first time since 2011, making it by upsetting UCLA on the road for the first time in program history. The Dawgs finished ranked 37th, the fourth time finishing in the top-40 in a six-year span.
Stephenson and Munns also coached 2022 grad Vanessa Wong to a record-breaking 112 career singles victories, breaking a school record that had stood for twenty years. Wong, Nika Zupancic, and Sarah-Maude Fortin were all ranked in singles during 2022.
Washington was ranked 27th in 2020 and off to an impressive 11-3 start to the season when the Covid-19 pandemic caused the suspension of the season.
In 2019, Stephenson and Munns guided the Huskies to one of their best seasons in program history as UW went 21-5 in dual matches, finishing the season at No. 10 in the ITA rankings and tying for second in the Pac-12 with a program-best 8-2 record. In addition, the Huskies reached the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 for the first time in 10 years.
After one season as a Volunteer Coach for the Huskies, Georgia Munns was named the Assistant Coach for the Washington women's tennis team for the 2015-16 season. She helped guide the team to a 13-10 record, and earn a national ranking as high as 19th in the country.
"I love getting to know our student-athletes and helping them develop both on and off the court. It is such a unique time in their life and they are constantly learning more and more about themselves – I really enjoy being part of that process and helping them succeed."
Munns spent the previous season as a Volunteer Coach with the Huskies after spending two seasons as an Assistant Coach with the South Carolina women's tennis program, joining the Gamecocks in December 2012.
At USC, Munns assisted head coach Kevin Epley in guiding the program to its 20th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and a first-round win over Ohio State to finish the year 17-11. The Gamecocks nearly cracked the top-25 in the final poll, coming in at a season-high No. 26 for an improvement of eight places from the year prior. Elixane Lechemia became just the fifth Gamecock in school history to achieve first-team All-SEC honors and South Carolina saw itself with two doubles teams ranked in the top 50 at season's end, a first in over a decade. For her efforts, Munns was named the ITA Carolina Region Assistant Coach of the Year.
In her first year with the Gamecocks, she helped Epley lead the team to a No. 34 ranking in the final ITA poll. Two student-athletes took home All-SEC Second Team honors with Jaklin Alawi and Katerina Popova, and both finished with national singles and doubles rankings as well. In addition to all-conference accolades for two of its players, South Carolina became the first school in league history to win SEC Player of the Week three straight times.
Before South Carolina, Munns spent three seasons with Illinois. She joined the Illini staff less than four months after graduating from Northwestern, and in her final year garnered ITA Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year accolades after helping the Illini to an 18-8 finish.
As a player, the Mettawa, Ill., native began her Northwestern career with an overall record of 38-8, including a perfect 13-0 in the Big Ten, en route to ITA Midwest Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors in 2006. She also compiled 29 consecutive singles wins, breaking the previous school record of 28.
In 2007, Munns garnered her first career singles and doubles All-America accolades after advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA singles tournament. She also earned Big Ten Player of the Year honors, finishing the season 5-0 in conference matches and 26-5 overall.
Munns concluded her career a four-time All-American with 125 singles wins, including a 29-2 mark in the Big Ten. She was named ITA Midwest Regional Senior of the Year in 2009, ending the season ranked No. 21 nationally in singles and No. 13 in doubles after advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships.
Additionally, Munns helped lead the Wildcats to four straight Big Ten titles and a final national ranking of No. 2 in 2008 and 2009. She was only the second player in school history to qualify for the NCAA Singles Championship all four years. In 2022, Munns was inducted into the Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame.
Munns ranked as high as No. 84 on the International Tennis Federation circuit (2002) and participated in both the U.S. Open Juniors and Australian Open Juniors. She was the 2004-05 Care Academy Player of the Year and was ranked No. 699 in the International Tennis Federation rankings and No. 882 in the WTA.
She is married to Keith Munns and the couple have two children. Her mother Barbara Rose swam for England's national swim team, and her father Graham Rose played semi-pro soccer in England. Her brother, Andrew Rose, plays professional soccer most recently with the Vancouver Whitecaps (2019-21) after spending time with the Seattle Sounders (2012-15) and Coventry City F.C. in the EFL League One (2016-17).
