Nov. 17, 2009
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame junior forward Lauren Fowlkes (Lee’s Summit, Mo./St. Teresa’s Academy) has been named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Women’s Soccer Team, it was announced Tuesday. Fowlkes earned second-team accolades this year, becoming the 13th different Fighting Irish women’s soccer player to collect Academic All-America honors, with those 13 combining for a total of 23 selections. Notre Dame also leads the nation with 15 women’s soccer Academic All-Americans since that sport branched off from the at-large Academic All-America program in 2002.
“What a tremendous accomplishment for Lauren,” Fighting Irish head coach Randy Waldrum said. “Not only has she been able to successfully balance her academics and athletics, but she has excelled and taken her achievements to the next level. We couldn’t be happier for her, as she embodies so many of those special qualities that we look for in a Fighting Irish women’s soccer player and a Notre Dame student-athlete.”
Fowlkes continues an unmatched tradition of successful student-athletes in the Fighting Irish women’s soccer program. At least one Notre Dame women’s soccer player has been chosen as an Academic All-American in 13 of the past 15 seasons (all but `99 and `02), and the program easily could have laid claim to honorees in the other two years. Jenny Streiffer somehow was passed over in her 1999 All-America season, despite previously being an Academic All-American in `97 and `98, while an injury to Vanessa Pruzinsky prevented her from earning her third straight Academic All-America honor in `02 (which instead came in `03).
Notre Dame ranks second all-time with 211 Academic All-Americans since the program’s inception in 1952. What’s more, 85 Fighting Irish student-athletes have earned the Academic All-America distinction during the past decade, tops among any school in the country.
Fowlkes has blossomed as a primary offensive threat for Notre Dame, appearing in all 23 games and starting 21 times after moving back to the forward line three weeks into the season (a position she initially started at in her college career, before moving to holding midfielder and central defender last season and earlier this year). Enjoying career-high statistical production across the board, she leads the team with 75 shots, ranks second in goals (10), points (24) and shots on goal (32), and is tied for second in game-winning goals (3).
For her efforts, Fowlkes was named the BIG EAST Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection, and went on to garner the BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Offensive Player award after leading the Fighting Irish to their 11th BIG EAST postseason title, scoring the first goal in both the semifinal win over St. John’s (2-1 OT) and the championship game victory over Marquette (2-1). What’s more, she was named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Year (second team).
Fowlkes currently is enrolled in Notre Dame’s College of Science, where she has compiled a 3.657 cumulative GPA as a science-business major and was named to the dean’s list in the fall of 2007 (3.804 semester GPA).
Voting for the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Team was conducted by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Committee. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings 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 Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
ESPN The Magazine – winner of the 2006 and 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence – is a provocative and innovative sports publication. Full of insight, analysis, impact and wit, the oversized biweekly with a circulation of 1.9 million looks ahead to give fans a unique perspective on the world of sports.
For more information about the Academic All-America Teams program, please visit the official CoSIDA web site at cosida.com, and for more on Notre Dame’s Academic All-America success, please visit the UND.com Academic All-Americans Page.
Fowlkes has helped Notre Dame to the nation’s No. 5 ranking and a 19-3-1 record (including a 10-0-1 mark in the BIG EAST), as well as the program’s 12th regular-season conference title and 11th postseason tournament crown. What’s more, the Fighting Irish earned a No. 2 seed for this year’s NCAA Championship and have advanced to the third round of the tournament on the strength of wins over IUPUI (5-0) and Central Michigan (6-1) last weekend.
Notre Dame will return to action Friday at 7:30 p.m. (ET) when it plays host to Oregon State in an NCAA third-round contest at Alumni Stadium. Tickets may be purchased by contacting the Fighting Irish Athletics Ticket Office (574-631-7356) or by stopping by the Joyce Center Gate 1 ticket windows on the second floor during normal business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET, weekdays). In addition, fans can buy their Notre Dame women’s soccer tickets on-line by going to the official Fighting Irish athletics tickets web page (www.UND.com/tickets), or by visiting the Alumni Stadium ticket windows on game night.
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