Jacobs, Davis Earn Academic All-America Honors

Jacobs, Davis Earn Academic All-America Honors
The College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced Thursday afternoon that Tennessee
track & fi eld standouts Dylan Jacobs and Peyton Davis were named to the 2022-23
Academic All-America men’s track & fi eld/cross country teams. Jacobs was a fi rst team
selection, while Davis was tabbed to the third team.
The Academic All-America teams, selected by CSC members, recognize the nation’s
top student-athletes for their combined performances on the fi eld and in the classroom.
The fi rst, second and third teams are comprised of 52 total student-athletes.
Jacobs’ debut season on Rocky Top was remarkable, posting four school records, winning
three SEC individual/relay titles and claiming the indoor 5k NCAA crown this past
March. The Orland Park, Illinois, native collected four All-America certifi cates in 2022-
23, which included a fourth-place fi nish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships last
fall that stands as the best individual result by a Vol at the national meet since 1972.
The 2023 USTFCCCA National Indoor Track Athlete of the Year established SEC records
and all-time top fi ve performances in the 3k and 5k this past winter, running marks
of 7:36.89 and 13:11.01 during the regular season that rank No. 2 and No. 3 in collegiate
history, respectively.
The University of Notre Dame graduate completed his bachelor’s degree in business
analytics before transferring to Tennessee last summer. He is working towards his master’s
in management & human resources.
Davis, a decathlete from Centralia, Missouri, rounded out his collegiate career at the
2023 SEC Outdoor Championships with a lifetime-best total of 7,264 points over the twoday,
10-event gauntlet. His tally was good for seventh place at the meet and represented
his fourth time scoring at a conference championship event.
A three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, Davis is working to complete
his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering.
Tennessee’s two selections to the Academic All-America squads marks the most in a
single year for UT on the men’s side since 2008, when VFLs Jangy Addy (fi rst team) and
Michael Hogue (second team) were recognized for their academic and athletic prowess.
Since 1989, the Vols and Lady Vols have totaled 30 Academic All-America honors.

After a promising debut season leading the Vols and Lady Vols on the track, Tennessee
head coach and director of track & fi eld Duane Ross has agreed to a contract
extension through the 2027-28 athletic season.
“In just one season, Duane has started building the foundation to restore our track
& fi eld program as one of the nation’s truly elite programs,” said White. “It was an
encouraging sign of progress to see both programs fi nish in the top fi ve at both SEC
championship events for the fi rst time since 2008, and watching our women’s program
place in the top-10 nationally at indoors and outdoors for the fi rst time since
2009 was eye-opening.”
In Tennessee’s fi rst year under Ross’ leadership, the Vols and Lady Vols totaled 15
school records, 32 All-America honors and 22 SEC medals over the course of the indoor
and outdoor seasons. The Big Orange men and women secured top fi ve fi nishes
at both SEC competitions for the fi rst time since 2008, with the Vols placing fi fth and
third and the Lady Vols placing third and fi fth in the team standings at the indoor and
outdoor conference meets, respectively.
Ross guided the Lady Vol track & fi eld squads to a pair of top-10 fi nishes both
national meets for the fi rst time since 2009, placing seventh at the NCAA Indoor
Championships in March and tying for 10th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships
earlier this month.
In the USTFCCCA’s Division I Program of the Year standings released earlier this
month, the men of Tennessee were tabbed No. 9 when combining postseason results
from cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. The ranking marked the highest
position for UT on the list since the award’s inception in 2008-09.
“Our fi rst year here in Knoxville has been special, and we’re just getting started,”
Ross said. “The support from Danny White, Marcus Hilliard and the Tennessee administration
has been nothing short of incredible. With a strong foundation in place,
we are committed to continue building this program into a national championship
contender.”
Regarded for his ability to develop sprinters and hurdlers, Ross coached Jacious
Sears to USTFCCCA South Region Track Athlete of the Year honors for the 2023
outdoor season. The Lady Vol speedster posted a team-high 11 points at the NCAA
Outdoor Championships and won the SEC Commissioner’s Trophy as the highest individual
point scorer at the SEC Outdoor Championships. Sears tallied 20.5 points for
Tennessee at the conference meet, which included winning the 100-meter dash in a
school-record 10.96 seconds and earning silver in the 200-meter with a lifetime-best
clocking of 22.45.

Following one of the best seasons in program history in 2023, Tennessee women’s
tennis head coach Alison Ojeda had her contract extended through June 2027, Vice Chancellor/
Director of Athletics Danny White announced Thursday.
“The sustained positive growth of our women’s tennis program under Alison’s leadership
has been exciting to witness,” White said. “Getting back to hosting a regional on
campus for the fi rst time since 2011 and setting a record for single-season SEC victories
were signifi cant milestones for our program this year, and I look forward to seeing Alison
lead our program for years to come on Rocky Top!”
Ojeda, the 2023 SEC Co-Coach of the Year, has continued to build Tennessee into a
national power since taking over the program in the 2016-17 season. The Lady Volunteers
have fi nished fi ve of the last six full seasons inside the top 25 at year’s end and have made
the NCAA Championship every year under her watch, with the exception of the pandemic-
shortened 2020 season. The year-end ranking of No. 14 to cap the 2023 season is the
program’s highest since 2010.
“I love being Tennessee’s women’s tennis head coach and coming to work every day to
be around such wonderful, competitive and ambitious young women,” Ojeda said. “I also
love that when I recruit, I am recruiting for my alma mater. I gave my all to Tennessee as
a student-athlete, and now I get to do it even longer as a coach. I also would like to thank
Danny for believing in the work that our team is doing.”