Dec. 6, 2010

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Memphis City Council Vice Chairman Bill Boyd has drafted a resolution to honor the accomplishments of the University of Memphis women's soccer team and will present the resolution to the four-time Conference USA Champions on Tuesday at the Memphis City Council meeting scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in downtown Memphis.

"This group of young ladies and their coaches have literally dominated Conference USA for four-straight years which is truly remarkable in this day and time of parity in college athletics," councilman Boyd said. "We are also so very proud of these student-athletes for their extraordinarily high grade-point averages. So, on behalf of all the citizens of Memphis, we pay them tribute and recognition that they so justly deserve."

The Lady Tigers finished the 2010 season with a 15-4-3 record and claimed a fourth-straight C-USA Championship. Memphis joined 13 other NCAA Women's Soccer programs as the only teams to claim four-straight conference titles.

Led by National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Third Team All-American Vendula Strnadova, the 2010 senior class capped off a four-year run as the winningest class in program history with 63 wins to couple with four championships. C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Lizzy Simonin helped Lady Tigers to a 0.84 goals-against average which ties the single-season school record.

In the classroom, Memphis earned a fourth-straight NSCAA Team Academic Award with a team grade-point average of 3.60. The 3.60 team GPA ranked third in the nation for all Division I men's and women's soccer programs.

"It is a tremendous honor for our program to be recognized by the city council and it shows how far our program has come," women's soccer head coach Brooks Monaghan said. "Academics are the number one thing we stress. Our philosophy is that academics come first, soccer second and social life third and if you don't live your life that way you will not succeed. All these awards say a lot about the character of the girls, to not only get it done on the field, but also in the classroom. I am very proud the group of girls we have."