Dec. 7, 2007

Cullowhee, N.C. - For the third-consecutive season, the Western Carolina women's soccer team has been recognized for its excellence in the classroom. The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) has awarded the Catamount program and head coach Tammy DeCesare with their Team Academic Award for a third-straight time, giving DeCesare the honor of receiving this prestigious honor in each of her first three seasons at the helm.

The NSCAA Team Academic Award is given to programs from across the nation that have achieved a cumulative 3.0 team grade point average for the fall semester. According to the NSCAA website, out of every college and university in America that fields a soccer team covering all levels of play (Division I, II, III, and NAIA) only 297 of the over 1,100 teams were recognized.

This semester, the WCU women's soccer team had a cumulative team grade point average of 3.53 which ranked the Catamounts tops in the Southern Conference out of the seven teams that were recognized, and seventh nationally among all NCAA Division I programs. Western Carolina additionally ranked 13th among every program at every level of competition.

"We tell our student-athletes that we place a high value on education. And when you look at the numbers, you can see that we take it as seriously as we say we do," said DeCesare. "It has become a staple of our program. Year in and year out, we have a tremendous group of girls that are focused on being the best, both on the field and in the classroom. We are all so proud of the work and dedication they put into this achievement."

This is the second-straight season that the Catamounts have been spotted at the top of the national rankings in grade point average. Last year, they finished third out of the 318 Division I programs and 11th overall in the entire country.

"When we recruit girls, we let them know how important their education is to us, and when they get here they see that we are serious and that it's not something that we just tell them," said DeCesare. "They are expected to perform at a high level in the classroom, and with a team like ours, the expectations are always high because we know the success we have had and we look to continue that every single year."

The Catamounts finished their 2007 season at 9-8-3, their consecutive year with winning record. They fell in penalty kicks to the College of Charleston in the Southern Conference tournament after ending the season 5th in the conference standings. Freshman goalkeeper Caitlin Williams and sophomore forward Shannon Fowkes were named as Southern Conference Players of the Week WCU was one of only three schools in the SoCon with multiple conference Player of the Week honorees.