After an extensive search of academic and volleyball programs in the Canadian and American northeast, the National Capitals' Tess Edwards has accepted an offer to attend the University of Kentucky in Lexington on a full volleyball scholarship starting in August of 2005.  Tess went on an official visit to UK this January 23rd and was given tours of the 685-acre campus, the 8,500-seat Memorial Coliseum (where volleyball and gymnastics make their home) and the Alumni Gym practice facility and locker rooms.  The Kentucky Wildcats play in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) of the NCAA, against university teams from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee.  The SEC ranked 4th of 32 conferences on the final RichKern.com 2004 conference ranking, behind only the Big Ten, Pac 10 and Big 12.

Tess will be the first official recruit of a brand new coaching staff which took over the team in mid-December.  Head Coach Craig Skinner, formerly the Head Assistant Coach at the University of Nebraska, will be joined by former Assistant Coach at the University of Texas, Robert Pulliza, and former Nebraska Cornhusker Jenae Dowling.  Skinner and Pulliza met as Nebraska and Wisconsin assistant coaches in the 2000 NCAA Championship game, in which Dowling was a player.  They take over a team which finished the 2004 season with a 12-18 overall and 3-13 SEC Conference record.

Tess will sign her official NLI (National Letter of Intent) at the start of the next NCAA volleyball signing period, on April 13th.  She will join the Wildcats in early August for her first training camp with the team.  The very condensed 2005 NCAA volleyball season begins in early September, builds quickly towards conference championships in mid-to-late November and the NCAA Championship tournament, which will be held in early December at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.  The SEC has traditionally had its top 4 teams invited to the 64-team NCAA tournament.

Tess' long-time coach, Cathy O'Doherty, feels Tess has found a good fit at UK.  "If she was to go to the States, Tess had hoped to find a quality academic and volleyball school where both the conference and NCAA championships were within reach.  She really seems to have found that with this new coaching staff, at a school like Kentucky, with its great sporting traditions.  We couldn't be happier for her!  Iguess we'll be subscribing to Kentucky webcasts!"

On his visit north to meet the Edwards family, Coach Skinner commented that he feels Tess represents the core around which he can build winning teams, and that he is relieved to have been able to commit a six-foot, lefty setter with leadership skills at such a late stage in the recruiting cycle.

Although Tess' hope had been to play at a school and in a conference a little closer to home, the opportunity to learn and experience volleyball at such a high level was just too good to pass up.  "I'm so pumped and excited about Kentucky," says Tess,  " - it's such a relief to me and my family to have found such great coaches at such an amazing school!  I feel really lucky and honoured that Coach Skinner has given me this opportunity.  Thanks so much to everyone who helped out along the way."

Tess will likely work towards either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at UK.  The Kentucky Wildcats website can be found here.