Pfeifer Vaughn voted ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District

FAYETTEVILLE – University of Arkansas senior basketball players Sarah Pfeifer and Brittney Vaughn were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team, the College Sports Information Directors of America released this week.

The CoSIDA administered team is the nation’s longest running and most prestigious academic all-America program.

“I’m really proud that both of those student athletes have been able to maintain their intensity both on the floor and in the classroom,” Arkansas head coach Tom Collen said. “They’re both excellent students. They are always trying to be the best they can be regardless of any situation.”

Pfeifer was selected to the District VI first team, which advances the Lady Razorback graduate student to the national all-America ballot for the second time in her career.

A 2007 graduate of the University of Arkansas in industrial engineering, Pfeifer returned this year as a sixth-year senior due to injuries earlier in her career. She is a two-time Southeastern Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s basketball.

Vaughn was chosen for the all-district second team. This is the first time for the senior point guard to receive academic all-district honors. The Plano, Texas, broadcast journalism major was nominated the past two seasons.

This is only the third time in the 32-year history of the Lady Razorback program that teammates have earned selection to the 10-player all-district team. District VI includes universities from the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas.

Vaughn’s selection makes her the fifth Lady Razorback basketball player in school history to earn academic all-district. Along with her teammate Pfeifer, Kristen Peoples, Amber Nicholas Shirey and Sally Moore were past all-district selections.

At the district level, Pfeifer becomes Arkansas’ all-time leader with three selections during her career. As freshmen are not eligible for consideration for the CoSIDA award, three all-district awards is the maximum possible for a basketball player. Peoples and Shirey were two-time all-district picks.

Pfeifer joins Peoples and Shirey as the only Lady’Back basketball players to reach the national ballot twice. Shirey is Arkansas’ only two-time academic all-American as Peoples received her third-team academic all-America honor her senior season.