PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The Pace University Department of Athletics will be inducting the 2017 Class of the Pace Athletics Hall of Fame on Thursday, April 27, at Whitby Castle at Rye Golf Club in Rye, N.Y. Patricia Thomas-Arscott '00, a name that sits atop the Pace women's tennis program record boards, will be inducted as part of the 16th Pace Athletics Hall of Fame Class. One of the winningest student-athletes in the program's history, Thomas-Arscott recently took the time to answer a few questions for PaceUAthletics.com.
1. You are regarded as one of, if not the top athlete in the history of the Pace women's tennis program. To what can you attribute all of that success?
In my case it was determination, focus and my spirit to fight and never give up. You have to want to succeed for yourself and know that hard work is the foundation for your success. I also give a lot of credit to my coaches, my teammates and my family, especially my parents Carmen and Winston Thomas, for supporting me and creating that environment for me to succeed.
2. You took home numerous awards in your time on the team. What did it mean to you to earn such recognition?
Recognition is the icing on the cake, it's the affirmation that your determination, focus and hard work has paid off in a very positive way. It means you have accomplished the goal you set for yourself, it is super rewarding.
3. What were some of your favorite things about competing for the Pace women's tennis team, and being a student at Pace University?
I have a lot of favorite things about competing for the Pace women's tennis team and being a Pace student. I will start with the competing for the pace women's tennis team, the sense of family and the shared commitment to be as successful as one can be is at the top of my list. Everyone on the team wanted to do their best, every day we walked on the court weather it was for practice or a championship game we all wanted to do our absolute best, with the ultimate result of winning. We also had a great coach and an institution that supported us, with that level of support it made it easy for me and the team to succeed.
Pace University is a very special educational institution, I loved the culture and values the administration embraced, my parents really appreciated that as well. There was always a presence of inclusiveness no matter who you are and the opportunity to succeed was visible to everyone, whether you were a full-time or part-time student, any race, religion or culture, everyone had the same opportunities you just needed to take advantage of it.
4. What are you doing these days, and what did Pace University/Pace women's tennis do to help you get where you are now?
I am a most of all a mother to three super amazing children, Kayla 8, Craig Jr. 5 and Elijah 2. They are truly my greatest blessing. I work for a financial institution as a strategist. Pace tennis and the entire Pace institution played and continue to play a very important role in my personal and professional life, I credit much of my success to Pace for its strong academic presence in my life and the discipline, focus and determination of being part of the women's tennis team.
5. What does it mean to know that your records will still be intact for at least the foreseeable future? And what did it mean to you to set all of these records in the first place?
Well records are meant to be broken, believe it or not it would please me to see my record broken, it simply means someone worked hard, stayed focus and was determined to succeed. The program no longer being sponsored by Pace is bittersweet, I am sure there are legitimate reasons for that decision, however I would love to see the program reinstated at some point in the future. In my opinion, the program was an asset to the Pace institution. I enjoyed setting records, I saw records as a goal, something for me to strive towards and when I got there, I challenged the next person to break that record. I truly had an amazing time at Pace on and off the court.
Thomas-Arscott will be inducted into the Pace Athletics Hall of Fame along with Chris Bayer (Baseball '91), Luke Hirten (Men's Lacrosse '00), James Stewart (Football '71) and Kim Zornow-Wise (Women's Basketball '89). The Pace Athletics Hall of Fame was started in 1997 with this year's ceremony marking the 16th induction class. Pace will also be honoring the 1976 Football Team as the Team of Distinction, as well as Gene Westmoreland, member of the 1999 Hall of Fame Class, as the sixth recipient of the Peter X. Finnerty Leadership Award.
Tickets for the event are available for $125 per person. For more information on the 2017 Pace University Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, please contact Associate Athletics Director
Drew Brown at 914-773-3271 or
dbrown4@pace.edu. To register for the event please visit
www.alumni.pace.edu/HOF2017.
For all information regarding Pace University Athletics, log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow Pace Athletics on Facebook (
T-Bone, Official Mascot of Pace University Athletics), Twitter (
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