SEC TRIFECTA PROPELS BOWMAN TO LADY VOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK ACCLAIM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 27, 2007 

LADY VOL MEDIA RELATIONS: Eric Trainer, Asst. Director (865-974-8173/etrainer@utk.edu) 

SEC TRIFECTA PROPELS BOWMAN TO LADY VOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK ACCLAIM 

UT Sophomore Victorious In 3000m, Mile, Distance Medley Relay At League Indoor Meet 

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- After taking part in three event victories that spurred the University of Tennessee

women’s track & field team to its second Southeastern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship in the

past three seasons, sophomore Sarah Bowman has been named the Lady Vol Athlete of the Week.

Bowman, from Warrenton, Va., won the 3000-meter run on Saturday night and came back to take the mile

run crown on Sunday and anchor the distance medley relay team to a come-from-behind victory to clinch the

team title for the seventh-ranked Big Orange women. Those efforts resulted in Bowman scoring 22 1/2 points

over the course of the meet, with that total ranking second only to SEC Commissioner’s Trophy winner Patricia

Sylvester of Georgia, who had 26.

After winning the 3000 meters in the last event on Saturday night with a career-best time of 9:20.43,

Bowman came back about 18 hours later to take the mile run on Sunday in 4:44.47 and chart UT’s first individual

double since Felicia Guliford (Gallup, N.M.) won the SEC Indoor 3000m and 5000m titles in 2005. Bowman had

entered the meet as the favorite in the mile, but she possessed only the 20th-best SEC time this season in the

3000 meters.

Bowman also brought home the baton for Tennessee’s third distance medley relay victory at this meet in

the past four seasons. Her 1600m leg, coming after contributions from freshman Rose-Anne Galligan (County

Kildare, Ireland), sophomore Kimarra McDonald (Lumberton, N.J.) and freshman Phoebe Wright (Signal Moun-

tain, Tenn.), put the Lady Vols into first place in the race, and she clinched the team triumph by crossing the line

first in 11:24.35 and giving the squad from Rocky Top an insurmountable lead over runner-up Georgia and third-

place LSU with only the 4x400m relay remaining.

In just her second season in Knoxville, Bowman has now won four SEC titles. In addition to her haul of

three at the 2007 SEC Indoor meet, she also grabbed first-place honors in the 1500-meter run at last season’s

SEC Outdoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. On UT’s all-time indoor performers lists, she ranks third in the

mile run (4:40.72), third in the 3000m (9:20.43) and seventh in the 800m (2:06.59). She also has run on the third

(11:11.32) and fourth-fastest (11:14.01) distance medley relay performances in school history this season.

As of Feb. 27, Bowman is provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in four events. She

stands ninth nationally in the mile, 18th in both the 800 meters and 3000 meters and is anchor of the fourth-fastest

DMR in the land.

She will return to action on March 9-10 in Fayetteville, Ark., as qualified Lady Vols take part in the NCAA

Indoor meet at the University of Arkansas’ Randal Tyson Track Center.