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Tennessee Vols morning report: More spring sports All-American honors

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee fans cheer during an SEC football game between Tennessee and Ole Miss at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021.Kns Tennessee Ole Miss Football
Tennessee fans cheer during an SEC football game between Tennessee and Ole Miss at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021.Kns Tennessee Ole Miss Football /
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With summer officially here and no more Tennessee Vols athletic events taking place for this academic school year, news surrounding the UT program has slowed down quite a bit. However, there are still plenty of stories to cover, particularly with postseason awards in sports still rolling in and future personnel updates.

Our morning update on Rocky Top includes both of those things. All-American recognition continues to roll in for multiple spring sports, and we’re not talking the baseball diamond this time. Multiple individuals are earning accolades for how they played this past year.

Speaking of individuals on teams, one sport brings news of players who are coming back for another year of eligibility, taking advantage of the 2020-2021 NCAA COVID eligibility ruling. We’ll cover that as well and take a look at what it means for the future, so there is some interesting summer coverage to bring you. Let’s start with awards.

Spencer Cross earns All-America Honorable Mention – Adam Woodard, Golfweek

After being named PING All-America Honorable Mention earlier in the month, Tennessee Vols senior golfer Spencer Cross earned his second All-American Honorable Mention this week, now being recognized by Golfweek. Cross earns the honor after a 69.33 single season stroke average, the best in program history.

"Led by a trio of seniors, the Texas men claimed their fourth national title in program history and first since 2017 after taking down hosts Arizona State in the final round of matches. Vanderbilt freshman Gordon Sargent claimed the individual title earlier in the week via a four-way playoff."

Hannah Jeffcoat named Academic All-American – AcademicAllAmerica.com

Redshirt senior pole vaulter Hannah Jeffcoat of the Tennessee Lady Vols track and field program was named a third team CoSIDA Academic All-American for the 2021-2022 school year. Jeffcoat is majoring in Kinesiology and Agricultural Leadership & Communication, earning 3.93 and 4.0 GPAs in those fields respectively.

"Four standouts in competition and in the classroom – Arizona State University’s Jorinde van Klinken, Colorado School of Mines’ Zoe Baker, Messiah University’s Esther Seeland and Concordia (Neb.) University’s Josie Puelz – highlight the 2021-22 Academic All-America® women’s track & field/cross country teams selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).Van Klinken (Division I), Baker (Division II), Seeland (Division III) and Puelz (NAIA) have each been named the Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year award winner for their respective divisions."

Three tennis seniors returning – UTSports

Thanks to the NCAA’s 2020-2021 COVID eligibility ruling, the Tennessee Vols men’s tennis team will return Pat Harper, Emile Hudd and Martim Prata in 2022-2023. All three will be playing for a fifth and final year of eligibility, a huge boost for a program that has made two straight NCAA semifinals appearances.

"The trio combined for 97 singles and doubles wins during the 2021-22 season, including 67 combined dual match victories. Harper and Prata have attended Tennessee since the fall of 2018, while Hudd has one year as a Vol under his belt."

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