MSU?s Lee, Patrasc Earn Berths In 2016 NCAA Singles Championship
May 04, 2016 | Women's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. –Mississippi State learned Wednesday that it will be represented by two players in the 2016 NCAA Singles Championship. Junior Jasmine Lee and senior Georgiana Patrasc were at-large selections to compete May 25-30 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Bulldogs' doubles tandem of Madison Harrison and Kristina Vozniak were also named the first alternate for this year's NCAA Doubles Championship.
Lee and Patrasc's selection marks the first time since 1992 that MSU women's tennis has placed two players in the NCAA Singles tournament in the same season. For both players, it will be their second career appearances. Lee has made the draw for the second straight year while Patrasc made it in 2014 as a sophomore.
Currently ranked 14th nationally, Lee earned a top 16 seed for the tournament and, as such, becomes the first MSU women's tennis player ever to earn ITA All-America honors. She has notched remarkable 28-11 overall and 16-7 dual match records this year, playing all of her contests at the No. 1 position in State's lineup. The Khaosiung, Taiwan, native has posted 19 wins against ranked foes, seven in the top 25, and achieved the highest women's singles ranking ever for MSU at No. 9 earlier this season. Lee was also honored with first-team All-SEC honors last week for the second year in a row.
The four-year veteran Patrasc sits at 35th nationally with an overall record of 27-7 and an incredible 18-3 dual match record for singles. She posted the best conference record on the team, going 9-2 mainly at the No. 2 position in the ever-tough SEC. During conference play, she won eight-consecutive matches at one point, six of those coming against top 80 foes. Patrasc earned her third career All-SEC honor last week. She stands third all-time overall at State in total victories, and is now MSU's all-time leader in singles triumphs.
The 37th-ranked State duo of Harrison and Vozniak has composed a 5-5 record this year, 3-4 at the No. 1 position for the Bulldogs. The pair was able to upset Auburn's now-7th-ranked Pleun Burgmans and Alizee Michaud in its first outing of the spring slate, and also have two other top 50 wins to their credit.
“We are extremely proud of these selections,” head coach Daryl Greenan said. "It has been a great year for our team and having four players selected for the NCAAs is evidence of our success. These girls have been major contributors to our success as a team and we are all excited to see what they can do on the biggest stage at the NCAA Individual Championship.
The draw for the 64-player NCAA Singles and 32-team Doubles Championship will be released closer to the start of the tournament. First-round action begins Wednesday, May 25, at Tulsa's Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
As a team, 21st-ranked State opens play in the 2016 NCAA Team Championship next Friday, May 13, as the Bulldogs take on No. 34 Virginia Tech in the first round at 2 p.m. CT in Lubbock, Texas.
