Lady Indians prep for NJCAA National Tennis Tournament
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com
FULTON, MS – The ICC women's tennis team is getting geared up for their final stretch of the season with their focus set on the Copper State of Arizona and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Tennis Tournament.
The No. 18 Lady Indians' tennis squad won the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) title and shared the NJCAA Region 23 crown with Jones County Junior College to earn the programs third trip to the national tournament in the past four seasons.
ICC will look to improve on their 2013 Top 15 finish when they hit the courts next week at the Jim Reffkin Tennis Center in Tucson.
"It's a different level of competition when you make it this far into your season," said Coach Paul Johnson. "We are looking forward to getting in the mix and taking on some of the best players not only in the nation, but from all across the world."
It will be the second-straight NJCAA Tournament appearance for sophomore Taylor Patterson (Munford, TN), who participated in the No. 2 singles tournament and No. 1 doubles flight along with former Lady Indians Kristen Eley (Munford, TN).
"Taylor's experience in the tournament is a big bonus when it comes to helping the rest of the girls get an idea about the level of competition, the different weather conditions, and everything that comes with playing in this type of tournament," said Johnson.
Patterson and Eley advanced to the No. 1 Doubles Round of 16 last season.
This season, Patterson enters as the No. 1 singles champion and ranked 32nd in the nation in singles competition – the highest singles ranking amongst all MACJC players. She and Aleisha Hudson (Yazoo) are ranked 30th in the nation amongst No. 1 doubles tandems – the third highest ranking in MACJC doubles.
Tournament play is scheduled to begin on Sunday, May 3 starting at 8:00 a.m. and conclude on Thursday, May 7.
Keep up with the Lady Indians' national tournament journey by following ICC Athletics with updates via Twitter (@LetsGoICC) and exclusive videos and photos on Instagram (@LetsGoICC) throughout the week.
