Thursday, May 25
Athens, Ga.
All Day
Mississippi State
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NCAA Individual Championships
MSU's No. 2 Jasmine Lee and Lisa Marie Rioux fall in opening round of 2017 NCAA Doubles Championship.
MSU’s No. 2 Lee/Rioux Upset In Tight NCAA Doubles Opener Thursday
May 25, 2017 | Women's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. – Ending one of the most successful doubles seasons in program history, Mississippi State women's tennis' second-ranked duo of senior Jasmine Lee and freshman Lisa Marie Rioux were upended in a very close opening-round match Thursday in the 2017 NCAA Doubles Championship at Georgia's Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
The No. 2-ranked and seeded Bulldog tandem took the opening set 6-3 before Kansas' 37th-ranked Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum and Nina Khmelnitckaia broke in the final game of the second set to even the match and send it to a third-set supertiebreaker to decide the outcome. In the breaker, the Jayhawk pair jumped out to a 7-2 lead before Lee and Rioux mounted a strong rally to tie it at 8-8. But Kansas' team claimed the last two points for the win.
Overall, the Bulldog duo composed a stellar record of 24-6 overall this in 2016-17 with a 16-4 record during dual match play, 8-3 in the SEC at the No. 1 position. Of their 24 wins, 10 came against ranked opponents, four in the Top 25. As the No. 2 seed in the NCAA doubles draw, Lee and Rioux became the first MSU duo since 1989 NCAA Doubles Champions Jackie Holden and Claire Pollard to earn ITA All-America honors in doubles.
Both Lee and Rioux find themselves in the MSU record book after their stellar performances in doubles this year. Rioux tied for seventh in single-season doubles wins with 27 while Lee took sole possession of 10th place with 24. In single-season doubles winning percentage, Lee finished third with an .800 mark in 2016-17 while Rioux gained sole possession of fourth at .771.
With her MSU career officially coming to a close Thursday, the senior Lee finds herself on almost all of MSU's top 10 lists. She finished her three years at State ranked fourth with 123 career combined wins (singles and doubles) and in sole possession of first place in career combined win percentage at .719. Her 72 career singles wins tie for second all-time at State while her .727 singles win percentage is the best ever for a Bulldog. Her 51 career doubles victories rank her ninth and her career doubles winning percentage of .708 ranks third all-time. In addition, her combined single-season record of 47-13 this year ranks as the best-ever in winning percentage at .783.
Lee accomplished many firsts during her five semesters in Starkville, most notably becoming MSU's first-ever women's tennis player to earn multiple ITA All-America honors. The 2016 NCAA singles quarterfinalist did so twice in singles (2016-17) and once in doubles (2017). She was also a three-time First Team All-SEC selection, the first State player ever so named.
Additional Notes
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State women's tennis program, follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The No. 2-ranked and seeded Bulldog tandem took the opening set 6-3 before Kansas' 37th-ranked Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum and Nina Khmelnitckaia broke in the final game of the second set to even the match and send it to a third-set supertiebreaker to decide the outcome. In the breaker, the Jayhawk pair jumped out to a 7-2 lead before Lee and Rioux mounted a strong rally to tie it at 8-8. But Kansas' team claimed the last two points for the win.
Overall, the Bulldog duo composed a stellar record of 24-6 overall this in 2016-17 with a 16-4 record during dual match play, 8-3 in the SEC at the No. 1 position. Of their 24 wins, 10 came against ranked opponents, four in the Top 25. As the No. 2 seed in the NCAA doubles draw, Lee and Rioux became the first MSU duo since 1989 NCAA Doubles Champions Jackie Holden and Claire Pollard to earn ITA All-America honors in doubles.
Both Lee and Rioux find themselves in the MSU record book after their stellar performances in doubles this year. Rioux tied for seventh in single-season doubles wins with 27 while Lee took sole possession of 10th place with 24. In single-season doubles winning percentage, Lee finished third with an .800 mark in 2016-17 while Rioux gained sole possession of fourth at .771.
With her MSU career officially coming to a close Thursday, the senior Lee finds herself on almost all of MSU's top 10 lists. She finished her three years at State ranked fourth with 123 career combined wins (singles and doubles) and in sole possession of first place in career combined win percentage at .719. Her 72 career singles wins tie for second all-time at State while her .727 singles win percentage is the best ever for a Bulldog. Her 51 career doubles victories rank her ninth and her career doubles winning percentage of .708 ranks third all-time. In addition, her combined single-season record of 47-13 this year ranks as the best-ever in winning percentage at .783.
Lee accomplished many firsts during her five semesters in Starkville, most notably becoming MSU's first-ever women's tennis player to earn multiple ITA All-America honors. The 2016 NCAA singles quarterfinalist did so twice in singles (2016-17) and once in doubles (2017). She was also a three-time First Team All-SEC selection, the first State player ever so named.
Additional Notes
- Senior Jasmine Lee is the first MSU women's tennis player to earn ITA All-American honors in both singles and doubles, doing so twice in singles and once in doubles
- The duo of Lee and Lisa Marie Rioux is State's first to earn ITA All-America honors since MSU's 1989 NCAA Doubles Champions Jackie Holden and Claire Pollard
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State women's tennis program, follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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