ITA Names Blue Tennis Senior Sojung Lee Regional Most Improved Player of the Year

WELLESLEY, Mass. — Wellesley College tennis senior Sojung Lee (Seoul, Korea) has been named the Northeast Region's Most Improved Player (Senior) of the Year, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Given annually, the award recognizes a senior that has improved the most over the course of their collegiate career. Lee is now a finalist for the national award.

"Sojung is the perfect example of a student-athlete that has gone from the bottom of the lineup to the top of the lineup based not only on hard work, but also on developing a better understanding of how to play the game of tennis," noted Head Coach Brian Kuscher of his senior captain's performance over her collegiate career. "She has earned victories over a number of incredibly talented players in our region and transformed herself into a prominent name both in the northeast and nationally." 

Lee's performance helped her make a steady climb to number one on Wellesley's depth chart, a position she has occupied for the past two seasons. As a first year in 2011-12, Lee compiled a record of 15-6 at number five singles. She combined her first year success and considerable talent a with a better understating of the game following her first season at Wellesley, taking a huge jump up the latter as a sophomore. In her second season, Lee registered an overall mark of 10-11, playing most of the year at number three singles, as well as matches at number two and as the Blue's number one. 

Lee's success truly came to fruition during her junior season, when she went 16-7 while playing the entire year as Wellesley's top singles player.  Lee's performance earned her a national singles ranking of 30 and regional ranking of eight, while earning victories over ranked opponents from Williams, Brandeis and Bowdoin. In addition, her play in doubles yielded a national ranking and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, as Lee and partner Carina Chen (Hong Kong) combined for an overall record of 15-6 while earning Wellesley's first individual NCAA tournament bids since 2008. Lee's prowess in doubles has led to national rankings in two of the last three years and regional rankings in three of her four years. 

This season, Lee continued to shine, earning a seeded entry into this fall's ITA Regionals at Williams College. As a senior she has put together a record of 13-10 and is currently ranked 21st in the region, as of the ITA's most recent rankings on April 9.  

Led by Lee, the Wellesley tennis program has compiled an overall record of 56-32 in team competition over the past four seasons, winning the 2011 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship and 2014 Seven Sisters Championship, while also making a team appearance in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.