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July 12, 2010

By Eric Trainer and Brian Davis of UT Athletic Media Relations

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Chalk up another tremendous honor for the University of Tennessee Athletics Department, as three former spring-sport Lady Vols, softball's Lillian Hammond and Tiffany Huff, and track & field's Phoebe Wright, have been awarded NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships.

The awards valued at $7,500 have been granted by the NCAA to 29 male and 29 female student-athletes who participated in men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's outdoor track & field, baseball, men's volleyball, softball, women's rowing and women's water polo. The SEC led all Division I conferences with six honorees, and no other league school had more than one student-athlete recognized.

To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) or its equivalent, and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated. The chosen student-athletes demonstrated dedication and effort, while performing both on and off the field at a high level, bringing credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics.

Included on the Top 50 preseason watch list for the 2010 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year award and a Top 10 national finalist for the fourth-annual Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, Huff hit .312 during her senior campaign with eight doubles, seven home runs, 45 RBIs and 46 walks over 64 starts while helping guide UT to a third-place national finish at the Women's College World Series. During her final campaign the Saugus, Calif., native and two-time second team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American assaulted the Lady Vol record books, moving to second on the Lady Vol career list for RBIs (220) and walks (152), third in doubles (49), fourth in on-base percentage (.462), fifth in HR's (23), seventh in total bases (360), eighth in runs scored (140), ninth in hits (234) and 10th in slugging percentage (.522). Huff also became just the third Lady Vol to post 200+ hits and 200+ RBIs during her playing career.

Hammond completed her stay in the Orange & White in 2009, having hit .339 overall during an outstanding 228-game career at Rocky Top. The Chattanooga, Tenn., product recorded 139 career hits, scored 136 runs to rate 10th in the UT record book and swiped 72 bases to stand sixth all-time at Tennessee in the category while playing a part in a pair of WCWS top three finishes (2006, 2007) and both a Southeastern Conference Tournament (2006) and regular-season title (2007). An exceptional student off the field of play, Hammond became the Lady Vol softball program's first-ever, three-time first team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American with her 2009 inclusion on the squad. She also picked up SEC Softball Scholar Athlete of the Year honors following her senior campaign.

"NCAA Postgraduate scholarships are very competitive, and it is phenomenal to have two recipients from softball this year," Lady Vol Co-Head Softball Coach Karen Weekly said. "Ralph (co-head coach Weekly) and I are very proud of Lillian and Tiffany. Both young ladies embody the characteristics we look for in the recruiting process. They are highly motivated individuals who strive for excellence in the classroom and on the field, and do so with character and class. The outstanding education they received at Tennessee, along with their individual efforts, enabled them to receive this prestigious award. Academic success is and always will be extremely important in our program."

A native of Signal Mountain, Tenn., and a double major in biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, as well as ecology and evolutionary biology, Wright improved her grade point average to 3.97 this spring. Currently a finalist for The Bowerman, track & field's equivalent to the Heisman Trophy, she won the SEC's H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award and the SEC Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in 2010 and attained first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America distinction for the second straight campaign, including Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-American of the Year this season. Wright went undefeated in the 800 meters as a senior, sweeping NCAA and SEC Indoor and Outdoor titles, and helped UT repeat as champs in the distance medley relay at NCAA and SEC Indoors. She ended her career as a nine-time All-American, five-time NCAA champion, seven-time SEC champion, 14-time league scorer and six-time Penn Relays champion. Wright, the bronze medalist in the 800 at the past two USA Outdoor Championships, owns world records in the indoor distance medley and outdoor 4x1500m relays and has American and collegiate records in those events as well as the 4x800m relay outdoors. She is an SEC meet record holder with UT's DMR in 2010 and owns six school records, most recently the outdoor 800 meters (1:58.22), which ranks her No. 4 in the world this season.

"Phoebe has clearly demonstrated her academic strengths by winning the SEC H. Boyd McWhorter and SEC Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards," UT Director of Track & Field J.J. Clark said. "Now, the NCAA has recognized her for her abilities in the classroom, as well, and it is really good to see. Last year, Sarah Bowman earned this honor, and now Phoebe has, and it underscores the legacy we have developed on the women's side of balancing high academic and athletic achievement."