University of the Sciences Student-Athlete Spotlight

Dayna Phillips- Women's Softball

Devils softball player Dayna Phillips became the most recent student-athlete from the University of the Sciences to earn a CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team honor when she was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 2 Softball Team earlier this spring, becoming the school's second First Team honoree during the 2009-10 academic year.

The CoSIDA/ESPN honor was one of several earned by the junior centerfielder this year.  At the start of the the school year, Phillips was one of 26 Sciences' student-athletes named as Division II Academic Achievement Award winners.  Also in the fall, Dayna was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Academic Team.

In the spring Phillips earned her second consecutive Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference All-Academic Team honor and most recently was one of just ten area softball players named to the Philadelphia Area All-Academic Softball Team, giving the Rosenhayn, New Jersey native a total of five student-athlete academic honors this season.

Phillips also excels on the field, compiling a .328 batting average in her three years as a member of the Devils squad, while starting in every game (124 total) over that time span.  In 2010 Dayna led the Devils with 20 runs scored and was third on the team with 37 hits while batting primarily in the leadoff position.  Phillips also led the team with nine stolen bases and 11 sacrifice hits.

Career-wise, the three-year starter has also made her mark, ranking third on the Devils all-time list in runs scored (75), hits (134) and stolen bases (37).  In 2009, she became just the second player in program history to record 50 or more hits in a season, banging out 51.

A biology/pre-med major, Phillips chose University of the Sciences because of the many opportunities that it gives its graduates and because of the close- family like atmosphere of the softball program.  Dayna plans to continue her education and continue onto medical school after graduating in 2011 where she hopes to become a surgeon.