University of Georgia Athletics
Kowalski Named to the 2023 SEC Community Service Team
April 13, 2023 | Women's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. — University of Georgia women's tennis graduate Meg Kowalski was named to the 2023 Southeastern Conference Community Service Team, the league announced on Thursday.
This marks the fifth time Kowalski was named to the Community Service Team.
Since stepping onto campus, Kowalski has been a model student-athlete on and off the court. This season graduate Meg Kowalski has led the Georgia women's tennis team's efforts in packing lunches for the unhoused community in Athens at the First Baptist Church and implementing a fundraiser to support a University of Georgia Athletic Association staffer who was recently diagnosed with ALS. She also assisted in Spooky Dawgs, an annual Halloween event for the Clarke County Mentor Program held at the House of Payne.
"When I first arrived at the University of Georgia, one of my top priorities was to leave it better than I found it," said Kowalski. "I am humbled to have been recognized as a five-time SEC Community Service Team member, but the true reward lies in the incredible experiences and connections I've had within the community. Athens has given me so much, and I am forever grateful for the opportunities to give back and contribute to its growth."
In previous years, Kowalski has been a part of Serving for a Cause, a fundraiser to generate money to send local children at the Boys and Girls Club of Athens to summer camp while the school-year program is not in session, First Serve, an hour-long tennis clinic to introduce the community to the game of tennis, volunteered at Special Pops, a special needs tennis clinic, teaching tennis to those who attend the clinic, Food2Kids Snack Drive benefiting the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, distributed groceries to underprivileged Athens residents in a mobile pantry car drive, and "Giving Challenge" which encouraged Georgia students to donate toiletries for unhoused populations vis Bigger Visions Community Shelter. In addition, Kowalski and other members of the Georgia women's tennis team collect and distribute old tennis balls from practice and matches to the local animal shelters and clinics in the Athens area.
Prior to UGA, Kowalski was heavily involved in the communities she lived in. In her hometown of Chicago, she was in charge of and ran two fundraisers (One for Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago and the other for Dyslexia Center in LaGrange, IL). She volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House in Chicago, making breakfast for families. After moving to Hilton Head to train at the Smith Stearns Tennis Academy, she volunteered for three years at the Boys and Girls Club of Hilton Head where she helped and supervised kids from low-income families with homework and mentored them.
Next up, Georgia wraps up the regular season with a pair of SEC road matches. The Bulldogs will take on Mississippi State on Friday, April 14 at 5 p.m. before facing Ole Miss on Sunday, April 16 at 1 p.m.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Women's Tennis on Twitter @UGAWomensTennis, on Instagram @UGAWomensTennis, and on Facebook @GeorgiaWomensTennis or check out information online at georgiadogs.com.
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