Soccer Earns National Academic Team Award

Dec. 10, 2003

OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss soccer team has been honored as one of the nation's best in the classroom as well as the playing field, having received the NSCAA Team Academic Award for the third straight year.

The National Soccer Coaches Association of America honors clubs that achieved a 3.0 grade point average or higher as a team during the 2002-03 academic year. The Rebels accumulated a 3.38 GPA, which ranked among the top 60 of the 264 women's programs to earn the distinction.

Ole Miss was one of only three women's soccer teams in the nation to have two Academic All-Americans in junior Lindley Beckman and senior Amy Sample. That duo was also two of five Rebels to earn Academic All-District status, including Brittany Gillespie, Ramey Rush and Kristal Menard.

Ole Miss turned in its most successful season as a program in the fall. The Rebels earned their second straight NCAA Tournament berth and advanced to the second round with a opening win over Texas. With a 15-6-2 mark, Ole Miss recorded its most single-season victories and finished top four in the SEC overall for the second straight year.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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