[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21627]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN TENNIS PLAYER MELANIE OUDIN

  (Mr. GINGREY of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
tremendous achievements of 17-year-old American tennis player Melanie 
Oudin.
  Melanie was born on September 23, 1991, in Marietta, Georgia, where I 
reside; and she captured the heart of America with her inspiring 
performance at the 2009 United States Open.
  Melanie entered the United States Open as the youngest player in the 
top 100, numbered 67--the number three American behind Serena and Venus 
Williams. This was Melanie's second U.S. Open, and she played 
incredibly well. Melanie ousted the number four seed, the number 13 
seed and the number 29 seed before losing in the quarterfinals to the 
number nine player. This series of wins comes on the back of her 
performance at Wimbledon this summer where she made the fourth round.
  Melanie's sneakers, pink and yellow with the word ``believe'' stamped 
on the heel, sum up her attitude about life and sports, and she has 
shown all of us what can be achieved if you only work hard enough.
  I know that I and the other residents of Marietta, Georgia, are proud 
to call her one of our own; and we look forward to watching her 
continued rise in the sport of tennis and in life.

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