GC redshirt senior Emilia Richter won her 100th career women’s tennis match March 23 with a 7-5 doubles victory over Southern Arkansas. With the victory, the tennis veteran cracked 48 wins in doubles matches to go along with 52 singles wins, making her one of the most decorated tennis players in GC tennis history.

Richter originally hails from Berlin, Germany. She moved to the United States in the fall of 2017, which marked a huge adjustment for her as she was introduced to an entirely new environment. Faced with the challenge of balancing academics and athletics in a new country, Richter finished her freshman year with a handful of impressive accomplishments.

As a rookie, the German was named to the 2018 All-PBC Second Team in singles, and she also earned recognition as a 2017-18 PBC Bronze Scholar.

Since then, Emilia has grown a lot as a player and person, and she has fully adjusted to life in the United States. Her coaches and teammates have played a huge role in her swift adjustment to GC.

“My teammates are amazing,” Richter said. “I have met so many good people over the years, and I am very grateful for my coaches and my whole experience here.”

Aside from a short hiatus when she went back to Berlin during the 2019-20 season, Richter has been a key part of this team for a long time.

“It obviously felt really good,” Emilia said. “I am really proud to get 100 wins for this team. It also makes me feel a little old with it being my senior year, but I am very proud to be able to get 100 wins.”

Richter did not know that she had achieved the century mark in wins until head coach Steve Barsby came up to her with the ball she had won with.

“I did see something about my 99th win, which was like a week before that, but going into the match I had no idea,” Emilia said. “Then Coach (Barsby) came up to me with the ball that I won the match point with. He said ‘this is for your 100th win,’ so I had no idea going into the match, which is probably for the best.”

The GC women’s tennis team is off to a great start this season as they currently sit at 12-4 this spring with a 1-2 record in conference play. The Bobcats have received several key contributions from their freshmen recruits this year, which has really helped them get off to their hot start.

“I am kind of impressed,” Emilia said. “I am not going to say I did not expect it. Our dynamics are really good, and we have really good players. Our freshmen are all really great additions to the team, so I am very happy with that, and I hope we can just continue.”

The team will honor Richter and two of her teammates Friday April 8 at 2 p.m. for Senior Day when the Bobcats take on Young Harris at home. The men’s team will also honor their seniors Friday as they host Young Harris as well.