LADY RAMS RANKED 22nd NATIONALLY
August 19, 2009

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FORT WORTH, TX:  The NAIA has released its women’s soccer preseason coaches’ poll, and the Texas Wesleyan University Lady Rams checked in at number 22.  The ranking is the first ever national ranking for the program, which received votes in the final two ratings last season.

The 2009 Lady Rams return seven starters and eleven letter winners from a Red River Athletic Conference Championship season in 2008.

The Lady Rams had a banner season in 2008.  Head coach Josh Gibbs led the program to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time.  His Lady Rams won both the RRAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships, earning a bid to Nationals where they were defeated 2-0 by seventh seeded Cal. Baptist.  The team was led by seven All-Conference players, including six first-team selections.  Alejandra Barrera was named RRAC Co-Player of the Year, while goalkeeper Brittany O’Brian was named RRAC Defensive Player of the Year and Honorable Mention All-American.

The Lady Rams will begin their RRAC title defense next weekend.  They open the season with five home games.  They will host Wayland Baptist University at Martin Field at 1:00 p.m. on August 28.  They will then play Ouachita Baptist University at 1:00 p.m. on August 30.

This season, the Lady Rams have a pair of 1st-team All-Conference players coming back.  Barrera leads the returning class.  She is back for her senior season after tallying 25 points on 10 goals (tied for 2nd in the RRAC) and five assists in her first season at Texas Wesleyan.  In the midfield, Christina Zimmerman is back for her junior year after earning 2nd-team All-RRAC honors as a freshman and 1st-team honors as a sophomore.  Last year, Zimmerman totaled 20 points on eight goals and four assists.

Diana Lopez is also back for her sophomore year after matching Barrera’s 10 goals as a freshman last year.  Midfielders Jaimie Romaguera and Jacqueline Wittman, as well as defenders Erin Bethany, Trista Rivera, and Jodi Blowers, are also back after successful 2008 campaigns.

The returning talent alone puts the Rams in the running for a fourth Red River Athletic Conference championship; however, Coach Gibbs has put together a recruiting class that makes the team dangerous on a national level.

Defensively, the Rams welcome back two proven All-RRAC talents in senior Danielle Parks and junior Kly Randell after a year away from the field.  Kayla Doherty (Lynn University) and Heather Pagano (Navarro College) have also transferred in for the 2009 season.

In the midfield, several freshmen will make an immediate impact, including Cara Lumpkin who was the all-time leading scorer at Copperas Cove High School (TX) with 88 career goals.  Vanessa Lopez also joins her sister, Diana, on the squad.  Vanessa was named team MVP at Fort Worth’s Brewer High School.

Up front the Rams have added two transfer-students.  Jessica Watton redshirted one season at the University of Detroit Mercy after helping Royal Oak High School (MI) to a state championship and a national runner-up finish in 2006.  Taylor Nelson redshirted one season at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

With a solid returning core and a tremendous recruiting class, the Lady Rams have their sights set on a fourth Red River Athletic Conference championship and another National Tournament appearance where they feel they are prepared to make some noise.