Jeanette Lee is used to facing tough seeded players, just usually not in the first round. But in ESPN’s World’s Sexiest Athletes poll, which is being conducted using a 32-athlete March Madness-style bracket, Lee has the misfortune of going head-to-head against one of the Internet’s most-searched celebrities, Anna Kournikova. The Russian tennis star, who is reportedly married to Detroit Red Wings perennial National Hockey League All-Star Sergei Federov, has been consistently named Lycos’ Most Searched Athlete, ahead of legends like Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali.

Lee is the billiard community’s most recognizable face, with numerous television and print appearances. Despite multiple surgeries last year, Lee has hardly missed a step, closing out the 2001 season with a runner-up finish behind No. 1-ranked Karen Corr at the Cuetec Cues National 9-Ball Championship.

To vote for Lee in the poll, log on to http://espn.go.com/sexiestathletes/. ESPN will televise the results during a two-hour special, The World’s Sexiest Athletes presented by US Magazine, on Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. EST.