THE PATRICKS ON CLEVELAND: “Crystal is one of the leaders of this team. We’ve been able to count on her since her freshman year and things won’t be any different this season. She has been a crucial element in the development of our freshmen as well with the positive energy she brings to the court.”
SENIOR (FALL 2002): Began her senior season with a pair of wins at the adidas Invitational before losing to 99th-ranked Julia Smith of Duke, 6-0, 6-0…In her next tournament, Cleveland reached the finals in the second flight at the St. Mary’s Fall Classic, pulling a major upset over No. 36 Delila Causevic of Maryland, 7-6(4), 7-6(5), before falling to North Carolina’s Aniela Mojzis, 6-4, 6-1…She teamed with Ashley Robards to claim the No. 2 flight of doubles at the St. Mary’s tourney, defeating Iqbal and Woods of Purdue, 8-6…Cleveland made her final appearance of the fall at the SEC Coaches Tournament…She went 2-1 in singles there and teamed with Robards to claim the doubles crown of the B draw…Finished the fall with a 6-3 mark in singles and an impressive 9-1 slate in doubles with Robards…Cleveland currently stands only two singles victories and five doubles triumphs shy of 100 for her career…Only four other Lady Vols have accomplished that dual feat.
JUNIOR (2001-02): Posted her second-consecutive season with 30-plus victories in singles…Finished 31-8 overall…Twenty-six of those wins came in straight sets…Cleveland’s 92 career singles wins after her junior year ranked 10th in school history and her .782 winning percentage was second only to Paula Kelly’s .816 among players with 85 or more career victories…She also moved up to No. 7 in career doubles wins with 86 to her credit, and her .748 winning percentage was No. 2 to Paula and Peta Kelly’s .951 among the top 15…Had her third-consecutive year with at least 20 dual match triumphs, compiling a 21-4 record…Named to the All-SEC first team, tying Aleke Tsoubanos of Vanderbilt for the No. 5 spot…Cleveland spent most of the spring at the No. 5 position, where she tallied 14 wins and only two losses…She also put up a 3-1 mark at No. 4 and was a perfect 4-0 at six singles…Played most of her doubles with Alison Ojeda, recording a 16-12 record with the senior…She and Ojeda saw most of their time at the No. 2 slot where the duo finished 8-4 and 10-7 overall in dual matches…Cleveland also teamed up with Majen Immink for an unblemished 8-0 mark, including a 4-0 record in duals…In total, Cleveland was 29-15 in doubles and 19-10 in dual meets…The Delray Beach, Fla., native began the fall season with six straight victories, capturing a title at the St. Mary’s Fall Classic in the fourth flight of singles…In her next tourney, she reached the finals of the B Draw at the adidas Invitational before falling to Florida’s Amanda Gordon…Cleveland owned a 15-1 dual match record after UT’s first 18 contests, winning a season-high 11 straight from Feb. 14 to March 17…Her only loss during that stretch was to Danielle Schwartz of Wake Forest, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4…In the NCAAs, Cleveland played at the No. 5 spot and finished 2-0 during the Lady Vols’ run to the Final Four, winning her matches against VCU and Florida…Earned Academic All-SEC honors for the second-straight year and appeared on the Lady Vol Academic Honor Roll for the third time.
SOPHOMORE (2000-01): Named the team’s MVP after the season for her steady play at the No. 5 singles position…Amassed a 33-10 singles record and a 37-8 doubles mark for a team-best combined record of 70-18…Earned first-team All-SEC honors in doubles with partner Alison Ojeda…Was also named to the All-SEC second team in singles…Ojeda and Cleveland went 20-1 in the dual season and earned a final ITA ranking of 16…Named SEC Player of the Week after upsetting No. 95 Kendrick Bunn of North Carolina and No. 84 Julia Scaringe of Florida over March 21-23…Also upset Vanderbilt’s 73rd-rated Aleke Tsoubanos, 7-5 and 6-2…Had a streak of 14 straight singles and 17 consecutive doubles victories during the dual season…Opened the season with nine straight victories, winning three flight championships…The first came at the Furman Fall Classic with wins over Wisconsin’s Teresa Gonzaga, Clemson’s Ana Stoglic and Vanderbilt’s Tamara Sutton…The next came at the UNLV Fall Invitational with three straight-set victories…Her streak continued at the St. Mary’s Health System Classic in Knoxville, where she once again won the championship with three straight-set victories…Cleveland teamed with Kim Gates in doubles play, going 8-4 in the fall…The UT tandem won the doubles flight two championship at the UNLV Fall Invitational…The duo was ranked No. 47 in the ITA preseason rankings…Cleveland earned Academic All-SEC honors and was named to the Lady Vol Academic Honor Roll.
FRESHMAN (1999-2000): Registered an outstanding freshman campaign, boasting a combined singles and doubles record of 46-14…Went 28-8 in singles action, where she played at the fifth and sixth positions…In doubles, teaming with Meiling Parks and Catherine Hall at the third position, she went 19-5…Highlighted her season with a 6-2, 6-1 upset over No. 39 Kate Burson of 16th-rated Vanderbilt on Feb. 18…Had 15 straight victories from March 5 through April 21…Earned second-team All-SEC honors in singles play…Named to the Lady Vol Honor Roll for her academic achievements.
HIGH SCHOOL: A member of state championship squads in 1994 and 1996, Crystal earned numerous titles as a prep athlete…After transferring to Westminster Academy prior to her junior year, Crystal won her fourth state doubles title…She won three other championships while at Saint Andrew’s School, where she attended through her sophomore campaign, each time with a different partner…Netted doubles titles with partner Trish Gehret at the National Clay Court Championships (girls’ 14), National Bush Open (girls’ 16 and 18), State of Florida Championships (girls’ 12 and 14) and was a National Hardcourt doubles finalist…Held USTA national rankings of second in doubles (girls’ 14) and eighth in singles (girls’ 14)…Won six national USTA Sportsmanship awards…Earned six letters in tennis and two in volleyball…Was twice selected as her school’s homecoming queen.
PERSONAL: Cleveland is majoring in early childhood development…Her biggest thrill in sports was earning the doubles title at the National Clay Court Championships…Enjoys working out and spending time with friends…Lists her brother, 27-year-old Casey, a three-time All-American in tennis at the University of North Florida, as her biggest influence…Has no other siblings…Crystal Lee Cleveland was born on Jan. 5, 1981, in Delray Beach, Fla…Her parents are Don and Becky Cleveland.
FAVORITES
Food: Pizza
Tennis player: Mary Pierce
Book: Bible
Band: Third Day
TV show: Friends
Tennis racket: Prince Thunderbolt
Surface: Clay
Place on campus: Library
Junk food: French fries
Class: Child and family studies 220
Vacation spot: Las Vegas
UT athlete: Anyone who fought and overcame adversity
Childhood memory: Road trips with my parents and brother
Thing to do with your free time: Sleep and eat
Sports memory: Reaching the Final Four last year
Post-match meal: Chick-fil-A
My dream job would be: Making lots of money teaching young children
Person you admire: My brother and fiancé
Coach Patrick quote: “How about some Marble Slab after practice?”
Coach Hahn-Patrick quote: “Crystal, you can do this. You just have to believe.”
