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NEW TAZEWELL – Juggling two sports while still maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade point average is something few people can do. Claiborne’s Carlye England just happens to be one of those few.

The Lady Bulldogs’ tennis standout signed to continue her athletic and athletic career at Lincoln Memorial University on Thursday and said maintaining a 4.0 GPA wasn’t an easy task but one she is thankful she mastered while at Claiborne. “I felt like I never stopped working. Of course I had breaks and I’m not too much of a social person so that helped give me some extra time. Obviously the people I am close to, I had to make time for.”

England said the proximity of the Harrogate school was one of the main reasons she inked with the Lady Railsplitters. “I have been to LMU for lessons a lot so I already have connections with the coaches and players. It’s close to home and I really liked the environment which means I can always come home if I need to. LMU has the program I want for my academics as well.”

“It really helped me with my work ethic,” England said of playing both soccer and tennis while taking dual enrollment classed at Walters State as well as completing her classes at CHS. “Normally during soccer season, I was still going to tennis practice and that helped me a lot and I think that playing two sports in high school can equal one sport in college just because of the intensity.”

England said she is very much looking forward to competing at the collegiate level. “I hope to keep my grades up. I have my schedule already so I have a lot of hours and I am looking forward to the challenge. I hope I can also keep in touch with all the other kids from Claiborne who are going to LMU.”

She is a Medical Laboratory Science major with hopes of eventually becoming a lab technologist so she can hit the road for a medical career similar to a travel nurse.