East Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame
Tennis • 1978-81
Patti Bean was a four-year letter winner for the ETSU tennis team. As a freshman, Bean became the first Lion in program history ever to qualify for the national tournament. She was a three-year national qualifier and a two-time regional doubles champion with fellow Hall of Famer Rita Garcia. She capped off her career being named the Division II Tennis Outstanding Athlete of the Year by the TAIAW in 1981.
As a freshman, she helped the Lions qualify for the AIAW Division II regionals, winning first place in doubles. As a sophomore she was named ETSU’s Most Valuable Women’s Tennis Player as the Lions captured the AIAW Division II Regional Team Champions. Bean helped lead East Texas State to a second-place team finish at the AIAW Southwest Regional tournament as a junior, finishing first in the doubles championship and second in singles. In her final season at East Texas State, Bean was the Lib Huggins Award winner, given annually to the outstanding female athlete.
Bean received her Bachelor’s in 1981 and her Master’s degrees 1982 in Special Education from ETSU.
