Wanganui tennis powerhouse Paige Hourigan is now strutting her stuff on the tough United States college circuit after securing a full scholarship to Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
After leaving St Kentigern College in Auckland earlier this year, Hourigan's parents, Tracy and Phil, decided to send her on the professional circuit playing predominantly in Australia and China, but she struggled without a travelling coach.
"We couldn't afford to send a coach with her and she just wasn't ready for the pro circuit without one," Tracy Hourigan said from her home in Turakina yesterday.
"She was all alone and it was horrible for her, but she's such a positive person and stuck to it. In April, we talked about scholarships in the US and, while she wasn't that keen, we went looking. To secure scholarships, you have six months from leaving school to apply and, when we decided, we only had two months left, so it was a bit of a rush."
However, once word got out she was hunting down a college, Hourigan's reputation already preceded her and the offers came thick and fast.