The Liberty women's track & field team, which captured the 2007 Big South outdoor team championship, earned another title today as a result of its success in the classroom. The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) has named the Lady Flames a NCAA Division I All-Academic Team.

Liberty, one of 97 Division I women's programs to garner this distinction, posted a team GPA of 3.110 for the recently completed academic year. Arkansas-Little Rock notched the highest team GPA in the nation, 3.610, and Arizona State, the NCAA indoor and outdoor national champion, was voted the 2007 USTFCCCA Division I Women's All-Academic Indoor and Outdoor Team of the Year.

The Lady Flames' efforts were led by senior Arlene Zelinskas (Dayton, Ohio), a second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honoree. She graduated in May with a 3.96 GPA as a biology major. Zelinskas, Piper Newby (Jr., Hayden Lake, Idaho) and Ashley Osborne (So., Bristol, Va.) all won USTFCCCA All-Academic recognition as individuals, last week. In total, 19 of head coach Brant Tolsma's female student-athletes were named to the Big South Presidential Honor Roll, by virtue of a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.