Pair Helped Lead Lady Vols to a 17-5-2 Record, the SEC Regular-Season Title and a Berth in the NCAA Sweet 16

Two Lady Vol soccer players have received national recognition for their hard work on the field and in the classroom as junior goalkeeper Vanessa Phillips-Bosshart and senior midfielder Kayla Lockaby have been selected to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America Second and Third Team, respectively.  They are the first members of the Lady Vol soccer program to receive national academic honors.  Tennessee is the only Southeastern Conference school to have more than one selection among the 33 players Division I players chosen.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Division I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.
Tennessee’s most prolific offensive scoring threat and an All-SEC First Team selection during the 2004 campaign with a team-best 10 goals and 23 points, Lockaby has proven equally effective in the classroom by registering a 3.40 GPA in Marketing.  With a flair for the dramatic, the Hamilton, Ohio, native tallied four match-winning goals during the season to grant her a Lady Vol record 11 for her career.  Her “golden goal” at 106:32 led the Orange & White to a 2-1 (2OT) victory over then-No. 8 Florida in Gainesville on Oct. 1.  The UT win was the programs first at UF’s Pressly Stadium and ended the Gators’ 36-match home SEC unbeaten streak.  On “Senior Night” (Oct. 29) Lockaby completed an all-senior effort on the match-winning score by taking a feed from Sue Flamini (Cranford, N.J.) and Keeley Dowling (Carmel, Ind.) and tucking it into the net with just three seconds remaining in the opening half of a 2-0 victory over rival Georgia.  She completed her career in the Orange & White fourth in goals (26) and points (67 on 26 goals and 15 assists) on the Lady Vol all-time charts.
Second Team All-SEC goalkeeper Phillips-Bosshart was a cornerstone of a strong Tennessee defensive effort that limited opponents to just 18 goals in 24 matches.  In addition to holding a 3.81 GPA in Exercise Science, the Vernon, Conn., native registered 11 shutouts this season and posted a miniscule goals-against-average (GAA) of 0.68 while helping lead UT to a 17-5-2 overall mark. 
She currently stands as Tennessee’s career leader in shutouts (23) and GAA (0.70) and has moved into second overall in matches started (49), minutes played (4,479) and victories (34).  Among her stellar performances in 2004 was a shutout string of 334:58 that included consecutive blankings of Georgia, Kentucky (SEC Tournament) and Vanderbilt (SEC Tournament) and a 0-0 tie against top-ranked North Carolina at the First Tennessee Lady Vol Classic during which she made seven saves.
The ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America Teams program honors 816 male and female student-athletes annually who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA, the College Sports Information Directors of America; a 2,000-member organization consisted of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.

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