STOCKTON, Calif. – Women's tennis national qualifier Tracee Lee, '95, will be honored as part of the Class of 2024 for the Pacific Athletics Hall of Fame. A special reception and dinner take place on Friday, Feb. 23 in the Janssen-Lagorio Gymnasium on the Pacific campus.
 
"I am shocked, but I'm also very honored," said Lee on earning the recognition. "It's nice to look back and think about all the things I accomplished at Pacific and how hard I worked. There were a lot of people that supported me along the way, and they all earn a piece in my recognition too."
 
Lee played No. 1 singles and was on the No. 1 doubles team all four years at Pacific. She was a two-time NCAA Tournament qualifier for the Tigers women's tennis team under coach Bill Maze.
 
"When I started playing at Pacific, I remember him saying on the first day of practice, 'What do you think we should work on?'" said Lee. "I was confused at first, but his background in his philosophies flipped the script in how I thought about tennis. He really pushed me to be an independent thinker and be self-motivated. That was the key in being able to persevere and reach the next levels in tennis."
 
Lee qualified for the NCAA Tournament in singles in her freshman year, winning two rounds before falling in the Round of 16. She returned to the event as a senior, paired with Marsa Kuurne in doubles.
 
"It was really fulfilling and exciting," said Lee. "Playing doubles with Marsa our senior year, we had a ton of fun. She was one of my closest friends at Pacific. To play tennis with one of your best friends, it was a blast. We complimented each other well in our personalities and in our styles of play. It was super fun to connect with her."
 
As a freshman, Lee served notice to the tennis community when she upset Harvard's Erika deLone, who was ranked No. 1 in the country at the time. Lee described the moment as one of her proudest achievements while playing tennis in college.
 
"She was pretty highly ranked on the pro tour before coming to college," said Lee. "Being a freshman, you don't know a lot of the players and don't think about rankings and statistics like that. It was an advantage to me because I didn't know how good she really was. I played with a beginner's mind where there's not much expectation. I remember having great comments from my coach as he pushed me to be my best. I played a really solid match, and I showed a lot of grit."
 
In 1995, she helped lead Pacific to one of its top dual meet wins when the Tigers upset fifth-ranked UCLA on the road. Lee picked up a key win at No. 1 singles, defeating UCLA's Jane Chi, who was ranked fifth in the country at the time.


 
"In our senior year, we upset UCLA," said Lee. "We didn't quite believe it when we won it. I had a big win over Jane Chi and I knew her from junior tennis. I never paid attention to the rankings, which helped me focus on the competition easier. The upset over UCLA was just unheard of. It was just shocking that we pulled it off. The feeling was incredible afterward. We were just on Cloud Nine."
 
Lee began playing tennis at a young age through her parents, Audrey and Carlton. They would take her to the courts when she was a little kid.
 
"My parents used to play tennis growing up," said Lee. "I wanted to try doing it after watching my parents play a lot. After that, my dad signed me up for some tennis clinics and I just loved it."
 
Lee worked her way up and eventually found a home at Pacific where she grew not just as a tennis player, but as a young adult.
 
"It was a time of huge growth," said Lee. "As an athlete, student and a young person becoming an adult, I think the tennis aspect was really important because it was super competitive being immersed in the atmosphere along with my team. It helped me to just really build self-discipline and the skills that I needed to do well at the collegiate level."
 
Lee is currently a business manager for a small company and lives in Seattle with her husband, Dale Dolesji, who she met at Pacific. Lee has two sons, Noa (17) and Max (13).
 
"I thank my parents, my coach from junior tennis Aunty May Ann Beamer, all of my UOP teammates from '92 to '95, my assistant coach and trainer, Kevin Sverduk and Bill Maze," said Lee.
 
More information about the Hall of Fame ceremony can be found here.
 
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