MSU Women?s Tennis Standout Lee Named First Team, All-SEC
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After compiling a 16-6 dual match singles record in her first season on the collegiate level, which included six victories against ranked opponents, Mississippi State’s Jasmine Lee has earned a First Team, All-SEC nod, the league office announced Wednesday afternoon.
Lee, a sophomore transfer from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, is the second Bulldog in as many years to receive First Team honors from the league, following Georgiana Patrasc’s selection last season. Lee was ranked 24th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Singles Rankings released Tuesday, the highest ranking for any MSU women’s player since Zsuzsanna Fodor finished the 2005 season ranked 23rd overall.
After earning a victory in her MSU debut against UAB on Jan. 31, Lee went on to win 11 of her next 12 singles matches, including a victory against Alabama’s 26th-ranked Erin Routliffe on March 15, helping the Bulldogs earn the highest ranked win in program history in an exciting 4-3 defeat over No. 6 Alabama.
Lee entered the ITA singles rankings for the first time in her Bulldog career on March 24, and went on to earn four more ranked wins (three in the top 50), including a straight-set win against 12th-ranked Julia Jones of Ole Miss on April 11, marking her highest individual win against a ranked opponent to date.
In doubles, Lee has been equally impressive, compiling a 12-4 record. Paired throughout the season with teammates Patrasc, Louise Ronaldson and Naomi Tran, Lee earned ranked victories with all three partners, including a big victory in the SEC Championship last week, as Lee and Tran defeated South Carolina’s 46th-ranked duo of Meghan Blevins and Brigit Folland. The win was the first time that Lee and Tran had been paired together all season and helped the Bulldogs upset tournament host South Carolina.
“This is an impressive and well-deserved honor that she has earned,” said coach Daryl Greenan. “Jasmine has made an immediate impact on our team and has played a major role in our success this season.”
With her accomplishments this season, Lee will likely earn a bid to the 2015 NCAA Singles Championship. As a team, Mississippi State currently sits at 15-11 overall and ranked 34th in the nation. The Bulldogs are expected to earn a bid to the 2015 NCAA Team Championship, which would be the program’s first in 10 years. Team selections will be announced Tuesday afternoon, April 28, with individual selections to follow on April 29.
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