Florida State senior Mihaela Moldovan of Bucharest, Romania, has earned at-large berths in singles and doubles in the 2005 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships, scheduled for May 23-28 at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga.
The champion tennis player is also an academic star. She earned academic honors last season, boasting a 4.0 GPA in her major, public relations. In addition to her efforts on the court and in the classroom, Moldovan completed an internship in FSU’s Office of Media Relations.
"This is something Mickey has been striving for her whole career," said Head Coach Jennifer Hyde. "It is so amazing for her to get the recognition from the coaches in the tennis world. It is so well deserved and a great achievement for her to accomplish, especially during her senior year. It’s storybook."
Browning Brooks, director of media relations at FSU, says, "Mihaela is such an inspiring person. It’s rare to meet someone who is so good at so many things and so dignified and humble doing them. Though English is not her first language, she pursues goals with such intelligence, dedication and hard work no one can be surprised that she has reached the pinnacle as both a varsity athlete and honor student. Her future is extremely bright."
Moldovan, seeded 9-16, has had an outstanding senior season, compiling a 16-4 record at the number one position, including victories over four ranked opponents. An Academic All-American as ranked by the 2004 College Sports Information Directors of America, she is fifth on FSU’s all-time singles list, with 75 career wins entering the NCAA postseason. The two-time All-ACC selection is one win shy of breaking into the career overall wins list with 75 singles victories and 46 doubles wins.
Junior Lindsay Deason (Ft. Myers, Fla./Boca Raton Prep) will join Moldovan on the doubles court.
Moldovan is the fourth All-American in FSU school history and the first selection since Lori Sowell in 1996.