Rachel Shipley

Classroom

Shipley is a senior who maintains a 3.675 grade point average and who is set to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in finance in May 2011. She is a three-time member of the Academic All-Big 12 first team and was selected to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District second team, the NSCAA Academic All-Central Region team and the NSCAA/adidas Women’s College Scholar All-America team as a junior. For her academic achievement, Shipley was honored as the Lone Star Showdown Scholar Athlete of the game prior to the Texas match. Shipley has earned honors as a Texas A&M/Verizon Outstanding Athletics Scholar for maintaining a perfect 4.0 semester GPA as a sophomore and the next year was named a Texas A&M/Verizon Athletics Scholar by sustaining a GPA of at least 3.0 over the calendar year. After graduation, she is interested in working in the finance department of a sports-related organization.

Character

Shipley was diagnosed with severe asthma and now takes medications daily to keep her lungs healthy and to be able to compete at the collegiate and national level.
Who wants to admit they have asthma? Not many top athletes, including Shipley. It could seem like an excuse or a crutch to fall back, but for her it is something completely different. “It is not an excuse, but a challenge to make me work harder and longer to compete at the highest level,” exclaimed Shipley. “I don’t let it prevent me from doing what I love.” Shipley has not let severe asthma slow her down one bit in her career at Texas A&M. The midfielder has been on the pitch in every match the Aggies have played for the past three years. Her competitive behavior and never-say-quit attitude are well respected by her peers and coaches. She is a true leader in every sense of the word, someone who puts the team above any individual accomplishments or awards. In fact, she has led the team in assists the past two seasons and is ranked 10th in most career assists.

Community

The Big Event is the largest, one-day, student-run service project in the nation where students of Texas A&M University come together to say “Thank You” to the residents of Bryan and College Station. Shipley serves as the chairman for the Aggie soccer team for this event. In the Bryan/College Station community, she has also worked numerous free youth soccer clinics for different age groups, where she taught the children soccer and life skills as a student-athlete. In addition, she worked as a volunteer in the Helping One Student to Succeed (HOSTS) program. With HOSTS, Shipley mentored underprivileged elementary school students and read with them one-on-one weekly in a difficult communication environment. Shipley has helped lead the A&M soccer team to back-to-back yearly awards of the Aggie Cup trophy. The Aggie Cup is a year-long competition between the 20 athletic teams at Texas A&M. It helps student-athletes grow and builds unity among teams as well as within each individual team. Competitors are judged in the five commitment areas of the NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills Program: Academics, Personal Development, Career Development, Athletes Supporting Athletes and Community Service. Shipley is also an active member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). She attends Grace Bible Church and participates in weekly nondenominational Bible studies.

Competition

In her collegiate career, Shipley has helped Texas A&M become a prominent national force, leading the Aggies to a Big 12 Championship and three straight NCAA Tournament berths, including a Sweet Sixteen appearance last season and a trip to the Elite Eight as a sophomore. In her first season as an Aggie, Shipley was named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team, the Soccer Buzz All-Freshmen Central Region team, and she led the A&M freshman class in scoring. She earned the team’s Newcomer of the Year award for her outstanding efforts. As a sophomore, Shipley received Soccer Buzz All-Central Region first team honors and was second on the squad with 20 points, including five goals and a team-high 10 assists. Her achievements and awards only escalated her junior year as she was selected to the All-Big 12 first team, the NSCAA All-Central Region first team, the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Season and she was a Soccer News Net Player of the Year finalist. She led the Aggies with 27 points, nine assists, 87 shots and 33 shots on goal and was second with nine goals. In fact, Shipley ended the season ranked third in the Big 12 in points, assists and shots. Her teammates then voted her the assists leader for the second straight year and the Midfield MVP. In three years at A&M, Shipley has played in 73 games and totaled 16 goals, 25 assists, 182 shots and 76 shots on goal. She has led the Aggies to an overall record of 51-16-6 (.740). She played for the U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team in England this summer after attending a U-23 WNT camp. The Plano, Texas, native also spent time at a U-20 WNT camp in 2008. She is a candidate on the 2010 Hermann Trophy watch list and a member of the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.