Ava Tankersley
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ava Grace Tankersley[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 2002 (age 21–22) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2024 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 102 | (38) |
Ava Grace Tankersley (born 2002) is an American soccer player who plays as a forward. She played college soccer for the Arkansas Razorbacks, where she was a two-time Southeastern Conference (SEC) Forward of the Year and a first-team All-American in her fifth season.
Early life and college career
[edit]Tankersley grew up in St. Peters, Missouri. Her father, Dennis Tankersley, is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher for the San Diego Padres. She attended Fort Zumwalt South High School, where she was named first-team all-state in her senior season. She played ECNL club soccer for St. Louis Scott Gallagher SC.[2]
Arkansas Razorbacks
[edit]In her freshman season with the Arkansas Razorbacks, Tankersley scored 4 goals with 3 assists in 16 games, including the winning assist in the semifinals of the SEC tournament, and was named to the SEC all-freshman team. She did not regularly start in her sophomore season, when she recorded 5 goals and 6 assists in 21 appearances. Arkansas again made the SEC tournament final and reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. In her junior season in 2022, Tankersley grew into one of the team's leaders, starting all 22 games, scoring 9 goals, and leading the team with 12 assists as she was selected to the All-SEC second team. She scored twice during Arkansas's run to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals.[2][3]
In her senior season in 2023, Tankersley led the SEC with 7 goals in conference play as Arkansas won the SEC regular-season title for the fourth time in five years. She was named the SEC Forward of the Year and first-team All-SEC.[2][4] She finished the season with 8 goals and 5 assists as Arkansas made the SEC tournament final but only the second round of the NCAA tournament.[2][5] Tankersley chose to return for her fifth season of eligibility, granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] In her graduate season, she scored a career-high 12 goals with 9 assists as Arkansas finished second in the SEC behind Mississippi State. She was named first-team All-American and repeated as first-team All-SEC and SEC Forward of the Year.[2][7] In the NCAA tournament, she was one of two Arkansas players whose penalty attempts were saved by the opposing goalkeeper in a shootout loss in the third round.[8] During her years in Fayetteville, head coach Colby Hale played Tankersley throughout the front line at winger, attacking midfielder, and striker.[9] She left the program tied for second in career assists (32) and fourth in goals (38).[2]
Honors and awards
[edit]Arkansas Razorbacks
- SEC regular-season championship: 2020, 2021, 2023
Individual
- SEC Forward of the Year: 2023, 2024
- First-team All-American: 2024
- All-SEC: 2023, 2024 (first team); 2022 (second team)
- SEC all-freshman team: 2020
References
[edit]- ^ "University of Arkansas – Spring Commencement 2024" (PDF). University of Arkansas. p. 57. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Ava Tankersley". Arkansas Razorbacks. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ^ Shi, Daniel (November 9, 2022). "Arkansas Soccer's Ava Tankersley stepping up as veteran leader". The Arkansas Traveler. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ^ Brinkley, Rhett (October 27, 2023). "Razorbacks women's soccer team wins SEC conference championship". Arkansas Times. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ^ Kamikow, Evan (August 22, 2024). "Ava Tankersley's Time to Shine". Pig Trail Nation. KNWA-TV. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ^ Abels, Parker (September 18, 2024). "5NEWS Athlete of the Week: Razorback Soccer forward Ava Tankersley". KFSM-TV. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ^ Kristensen, Anthony (November 3, 2024). "Arkansas soccer's Ava Tankersley wins consecutive forward of the year honors, seven Razorbacks named All-SEC". Whole Hog Spors. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ^ Kristensen, Anthony (November 24, 2024). "Arkansas soccer season ends with penalty shootout loss to Stanford". Whole Hog Spors. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ^ Kristensen, Anthony (September 29, 2024). "Ava Tankersley's milestone leads Arkansas soccer to win over No. 23 South Carolina in front of record crowd". Whole Hog Spors. Retrieved December 25, 2024.