Ten finalists announced for Tech's 2015-16 Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year Award

<<< Sarah Brandt | Junior | Oroville, Calif. | Cross Country / Track & Field
From the moment she stepped foot on the Tech campus, Sarah Brandt has had a positive impact on the Tech cross country and track & field programs. During the cross country season in the fall, she was either first or second on the team in every meet, and posted four times that rank in the all-time Top 30 in program history. A middle distance runner, her success continued into the indoor track season, where she established two individual school records and helped two relay squads post school marks. Her time of 2:11.00 in the 800m race at Notre Dame established a school record, and she followed that one week later with a school record of 5:01.69 in the mile run. She helped the Golden Eagles establish new records in the 4x800m and distance medley relays. An injury early in the outdoor season hampered her development, but she still posted the second-best time in school history at 800m, and set the school record at 1,500 meters. She received the Female Newcomer of the Year Award at the Golden Wings Awards in April.

Cody Dodd | Senior | Cookeville, Tenn. | Volleyball >>>
Cody Dodd has been an asset to the Tech volleyball team all four years in the Purple and Gold. She acquired a career-record 30-kills against SIUE and Jacksonville State in 2015, as well as posted a career-high 23 digs versus Murray State. She placed herself in the 1,000 kill club this past year, rounding out her career with an impressive 1,261 kills. Over her four years at Tech, she also notched 776 digs, 284 blocks, and 128 service aces. She was three-times named the adidas® Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week on the 2015 year, and received post-season honors being named to the All-OVC first team. She ended her senior season at the top of the OVC standings, lead all other conference players in kills (515), service aces (52), and points (607.0) In the NCAA, Dodd found herself ranked 17th in kills and 10th in service aces and points. Dodd was also selected as one of 36 athletes to participate in the U.S. Collegiate National Team (CNT) program that trained and competed in conjunction with the USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships in New Orleans, La. in June of 2015. Dodd was also named the winner of the 2015 Katherine Brown Female Athlete of the Year Award, presented by the Cookeville Sports Council.

<<< Allyson Dunn | Sophomore | Kingsport, Tenn. | Golf
From the moment she officially transitioned to the Tennessee Tech golf team after spending her freshman campaign at East Tennessee State, Allyson Dunn made Golden Eagle fans realize just ho great of a steal head coach Polk Brown made. In her first season donning the purple and gold, Dunn led the Tech squad in scoring average with the third lowest mark in program history of 76.77. The sophomore's season highlight came in the final outing of the season when she battle back to finish in a tie for second at the OVC Championship after carding a final-round 69, which also led the team to a second place showing. Tying her lowest career round, which she posted early in the fall as well, the 69 represented the second lowest in school history and completed an incredible 54-hole score of 222. Dunn actually set her career-low scoring mark for three rounds two events earlier, tallying a 220 at the EKU Colonel Classic for the fourth-best performance in TTU history. The score also earned her OVC Female Golfer of the Week honors. An OVC All-Tournament honoree, it represented her fourth All-Tournament nod of the season and second second-place finish. She helped the Golden Eagles completely shatter the program scoring mark with an 888 at The Fall Invitational and the single-round record with a 290 at the same event. Dunn took home team MVP honors and won the Best Putter, Low Average and Long Hitter Awards, as well as a share of the Impact Award with teammate Hollee Sadler. 

Abi Gearing | Junior | Libertyville, Ill. | Soccer >>>
Serving as a force to be reckoned with on the offensive side of the pitch, junior Abi Gearing led the Tennessee Tech soccer team in goals and points in 2015, helping direct the Golden Eagles to one of their best seasons in program history. Behind a club-best four goals and 11 points, the 5-foot-9 forward pushed a TTU offensive unit that doubled its goal total from last year and frequented the back of the net most often since 2011. The stout numbers led the Libertyville, Ill. native to a spot on the All-OVC first team, joining freshman Kari Naerdemann as the first two Golden Eagles to seize first team recognition since 2009. Gearing's play skyrocketed during OVC action, coming up huge during TTU's record-setting conference campaign that saw the Golden Eagles capture a program-best six wins. The dynamic junior registered all four of her goals and all 11 of her assists during conference play. Among the highlights for Gearing, the third-year Golden Eagle scored the game-winner in Tech's regular season finale, a 1-0 victory over Morehead State on Oct. 29 that clinched a second-place conference finish, the highest in 15 years. 

<<< Samaria Howard | Senior | Jacksonville, Fla. | Basketball
Even though she was only a member of the Tech women's basketball team for two season, Samaria Howard made great strides on the Golden Eagle squad, joining the 1,000 point club her senior season with just two years under her belt and feat that is not easily accomplished in four years. Howard ended her career at Tech accumulating 1,059 points, 322 rebounds, 72 assists, and 62 steals. She shot 39.8 (374-939) percent from the floor, 27.6 percent (24-87) from beyond the arc, and 80.4 percent (287-357) from the charity stripe. She was thrice named the adidas® Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week in 2015, as well as three-times named the adidas® OVC Newcomer of the Week on the 2014-15 year. Howard earned a place on the 2015-16 all-OVC first team, as well as was named to the 2015-16 all-OVC preseason team after taking home all-OVC second team and all-OVC Newcomer team honors on the 2014-15 year. Howard ended her senior season averaging 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 39.6 percent from the floor, 32.9 percent from the three-point range, and 79.7 percent from the line. In the NCAA, her 21 points per game rank her 19th, her 608 total points on the season rank her 12th, her 157 made free throws rank her 10th, and her 214 made field goals rank her 17th.

 D'Airrien Jackson | Freshman | Santa Clara, Calif. | Track & Field >>> D'Airrien Jackson was voted the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year during the Outdoor Track & Field season. She sprinted her way to an individual crown at the OVC Outdoor Championships and was a major contributor to Tech's relay success with third and fourth place finishes. She accounted for 21 of the team's 59.5 total points. Jackson ran away from the field on the second lap in the 800-meter event to be crowned OVC champion, posting a winning time of 2:10.37. The 4x100m relay team finished fourth in 46.38 seconds to eclipse the previous school record, with Jackson roaring through one of the strongest legs of the race. In the 4x400m relay, Jackson was nothing short of brilliant in the second leg of the race, covering her distance with a split of 51.77 seconds (better than the school record at 400 meters) as the Golden Eagles claimed third place. During the indoor season, Jackson helped set school records in both the 4x100m and distance medley relays, and posted the team's second-best times at both 400m and 800m. During the outdoor season, she set school records in the 400m and 800m events, as well as the 4x100m, 4x400m and 4x800m relays. Her 400m time of 52.64 seconds ranked as the seventh-best in the nation and earned her a spot at the NCAA Regional, where her first-round time advanced her to the quarterfinals.

<<< Danielle Liberatore | Junior | Peotone, Ill. | Softball
Danielle Liberatore has truly been a leader on the Tech softball team from the circle. After an impressive sophomore season, where she tallied a career-best 17 strikeouts versus Morehead State, and broke records in the Golden Eagle record book, Liberatore continued to do impressive work as the leading Tech pitcher. Named Tech's 2015 Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year, Liberatore continued her success into the 2016 season, taking home OVC Pitcher of the Week honors on one occasion, while also being named to the 2016 all-OVC second team. She rounded out her junior season with a 15-14 record from the circle, throwing 18 complete games including 5/1 shutouts with three saves. Over her 168.2 innings pitched, she retired 227 batters at the dish with a 2.74 ERA. She ended the 2016 season, ranked second in the OVC in strikeouts, third in saves, and fifth in shutouts. Nationally, she ranked 11th in strikeouts per seven innings (9.4) and 15th in total punchouts. 

Kari Naerdemann | Freshman | Herne, Germany | Soccer >>> 
Anchor of one of the league's stingiest defense, freshman Kari Naerdemann served as a critical contributor in pacing the Tennessee Tech soccer team to one of its best seasons in program history. Boasting a trio of conference accolades with spots on the OVC all-newcomer team and All-OVC first team as well as taking home the conference's prized Defensive Player of the Year honor, the 5-foot-9 goalkeeper became the first Golden Eagle to hoist the prestigious title in 15 years. Playing in each and every minute between the pipes, Naerdemann yielded only seven goals in 10 OVC matches, tied for the least amount in the conference while Tech's 0.68 goals against average in OVC play was also the lowest in the 11-team league. Overall, Naerdemann surrendered a measly 17 goals in 19 regular season contests, the fewest in one season in program history, punctuated by seven shutouts, the highest total in nearly 15 years. The Herne, Germany native wrapped up the regular season second in the conference with an impressive .857 save-percentage, second with a 0.83 goals against average, and tied for first with those seven blankings. In her first season donning the purple and gold, Naerdemann's impact in one of the most significant positions on the pitch was clearly evident as the Golden Eagles captured their most conference wins in one season in school history, a second place OVC finish, the highest in 15 years, a regular season winning record for the first time in over a decade, and the first postseason appearance in six years, culminating in a trip to the OVC Tournament semifinals.

<<< Whitney Robertson | Junior | Clarksville, Tenn. | Golf
Another year in the purple and gold meant another impressive season turned in by Whitney Robertson on the links. The junior tallied the second best scoring average on the team in 2015-16, racking up the fourth lowest mark in program history of 77.10. Robertson tallied five top 15 finishes on the year, including an All-Tournament showing after placing third at Tech's Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate. She finished with a 230 in the event that featured 74 participants. In the fall, the Clarksville, Tenn. native enshrined her name in the Tech record books by tying the lowest 54-hole score in school history, posting a 218 at The Fall Invitational. She posted season-low scores of 71 in each of the first two rounds. For the second-straight year, Robertson turned in at least one 18-hole, 36-hole and 54-hole scores that cracked the top 15 in TTU history. Her 230 and tie for 16^th place helped propel the Tech squad to a second-place showing at the OVC Championship. She helped the Golden Eagles completely shatter the program scoring mark with an 888 at The Fall Invitational and the single-round record with a 290 at the same event.