North Carolina State University Athletics

TIM PEELER: Lee Has Excelled Quickly in Women's Tennis
5/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 12, 2006
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH - NC State freshman tennis player Shona Lee didn't really know what to expect when she was thrown so quickly into the world of college tennis.
But she likes it.
The freshman from Auckland, New Zealand, arrived at NC State in January and less a month later, she was named the ACC women's tennis player of the week. Despite the hardships of living 8,500 miles away from home, Lee has thrived in her new environment.
"It's something I am really glad I did," said Lee. "I am really enjoying being here. I have a great team and the atmosphere around here is great. That made settling in much easier.
"Everything is enjoyable. I like playing collegiate tennis. I like being able to train whenever I want. I like school."
Friday, Lee will lead the Wolfpack (16-9) into the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history, facing William & Mary at 1 p.m. at the Thalhimer Tennis Center in Richmond, Va. The winner will play again on Saturday against the winner of Friday's match between Virginia Commonwealth and Richmond.
It's been a rather remarkable journey for Lee, who graduated from St. Cuthbert's College, which is equivalent to an American K-12 private school) in November and immediately began making preparations to come to the United States. Though she has played competitive tennis all over Asia, Australia and New Zealand, where she was a junior national champion, Lee had never been to the United States before she got on a plane for a 23-hour flight to Raleigh in January.
She left behind her parents, her two older sisters and younger brother, plus all of her southern hemisphere friends to play tennis for the Wolfpack. It was a daunting experience for Lee, who had only limited knowledge of what playing collegiate sports in America was like.
Her older sister, Jenna, played for NCAA Division II Rockhurst University in Kansas City for two years and was named the 2003 Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year. But that wasn't quite the same as playing in the ACC.
"I had no idea what I was getting myself into," Lee admits.
And she wasn't able to make a recruiting visit here, because of her busy schedule and because she would have been allow to stay only 48 hours on the visit. It just didn't seem to be worth it.
Instead, Wolfpack women's assistant Mait DuBois flew to Auckland to visit with Lee and her family, to answer questions about NC State and convince the promising young player to come to Raleigh.
She has excelled on the courts since arriving, compiling a 13-7 overall record, playing primarily in the No. 2 singles slot. She also compiled a 9-9 doubles record with sophomore Julia Roach, and earned All-ACC honors in April.
"I think she would say it is getting better and better every week she is here," said Wolfpack head coach Hans Olsen. "Everything from her game to her comfort with the team. She is a very talented player and a very hard worker and she brings that attitude to the team."
Lee has been busy enough with tennis and school not to get terribly homesick yet, though there are things she misses terribly from home, like really good Asian food. (Lee's father is Chinese, and she has played tennis frequently in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.) She's looking forward to going back to New Zealand over the summer, even if she can only visit for a couple of weeks.
First, however, is this weekend's NCAA Tournament appearance.
"It's exciting, because this is the first time in a long time (since 1998) we have gone there," Lee said. "Since it is my first year here, I kind of feel like I am doing something to help.
"It's just exciting to see the school being able to do well in tennis."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.



