By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It's the highest honor a Tennessee Tech student-athlete can receive. A player who excels on the field, in the classroom and in the community. By the end of their collegiate career, they stand as a shining example of what a Golden Eagle is supposed to be.
On Monday, as part of the annual Golden Wings Awards, Tennessee Tech will announce its 2016-17 winner of the Woman of the Year Award.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be a senior or graduate student who has completed his athletic eligibility during the 2016-17 season. Criteria for selecting the award include both athletic and academic accomplishments, as well as additional areas such as community and campus involvement and public service activities.
The five finalists, in alphabetical order, include:
Sarah Brandt | Senior | Oroville, Calif. | Cross Country / Track and Field Academically, Brandt holds a 3.93 grade point average in interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis in journalism and communications. She has been a three-time selection to the Tech Athletic Director's Honor Roll and was a 2016 selection on the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll. She was a selection to the USTFCCCA Division I All-Academic Team. Outside of the university setting, Brandt is a Petty Officer Third Class Master at Arms in the U.S. Naval Reserve. She also interned with Tech's Communications and Marketing department. Among her service activities, Brandt has served with Rotaract, the university level of Rotary, as well as serving as a student activist for the Americans for Liberty group and as a member of the university's Speech and Debate team. Brandt also traveled to the Dominican Republic on a mission trip in March delivering supplies and labor to the Hogar El Faro Orphanage, and also served as a camp counselor last summer for Rotary's Camp Royal youth leadership conference. |
Abi Gearing | Senior | Libertyville, Ill. | Soccer Academically, Gearing posted a 3.93 grade point average in special education. She was a member of the Tech Athletic Director's Honor Roll every semester and was on the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll three times. She also earned the OVC Academic Medal of Honor twice and was awarded the OVC's Scholar Athlete Award, the conference's highest individual honor for a student-athlete. Gearing was an active member and head of the community service committee in the Studen-Athlete Advisory Committee. She helped coordinate the group's Hoops for Heroes initiative, and was also the president of the Tech chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She also volunteered with the Knoxville-area Rescue Mission, with local food pantries and at local elementary schools. In 2015, she also traveled to the Dominican Republic for a mission trip. |
Hannah Goolsby | Senior | Cookeville, Tenn. | Basketball Academically, Goolsby has a 3.73 grade point average in multidisciplinary studies and elementary education. She was an OVC Academic Medal of Honor recipient, and has twice been named to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll and six times to the Tech Athletic Director's Honor Roll. In the community, Goolsby volunteered with Mustard Seed Ranch, the Capshaw Cougar Run, the Girl Scout Basketball Clinic, the Rotary Pancake Breakfast and the Fall FunFest. |
Gabby Perez | Senior | Covington, La. | Softball Academically, she has a 3.65 grade point average in EXPW with an emphasis in fitness and wellness. She has been a frequent presence on both the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Tech Athletic Director's Honor Roll. Perez also spearheaded a campus-wide food and supply drive for flood victims in her home state of Louisiana in Fall 2016. |
Whitney Robertson | Senior | Clarksville, Tenn. | Golf Academically, Robertson compiled a 3.49 GPA in EXPW with a focus on pre-occupational therapy. On campus, she has been involved with Mountain Project, a discipleship and leadership program, as well as Generation Send, a church planting and leadership initiative. In the community, Robertson has worked with Relay for Life, the Capshaw Cougar Run, the Algood Middle School golf team, the Cookeville Rescue Mission and the Fall FunFest. |
The Woman of the Year Award was established in 1991, and 29 winners have been selected in the past 26 years, including three years with co-winners.
The previous winners include:
1991 – Dana Scott (Basketball)
1992 – Cecilia Ramsey (Basketball)
1993 – Bonnie Zoss (Volleyball / Track and Field / Basketball)
1994 – Beth Keylon (Softball)
1995 – Taunya Lovelace (Basketball)
1996 – Merrie Robin Caldwell (Cross Country / Track and Field)
1997 – Dena Adams (Track and Field / Cross Country)
1998 – Rachel Melchiorre (Volleyball)
1999 – Amber Clark (Basketball)
2000 – Diane Seng (Basketball / Volleyball) / Collin Carmichael (Basketball)
2001 – Rachael Gobble (Basketball) / Adrienne Fortmann (Softball)
2002 – Janet Holt (Basketball)
2003 – LeeAnne Mongar (Softball)
2004 – Alexis Boyd (Soccer) / Andrea Brown (Basketball)
2005 – Laura Sidorowicz (Volleyball)
2006 – Anne Morrow (Volleyball)
2007 – Kayla Garrison (Golf)
2008 – Beth Boden (Softball)
2009 – Kappy Lang (Volleyball)
2010 – Teresa Craig (Volleyball)
2011 – Brooke Mayo (Soccer)
2012 – Lindsey Reed (Soccer)
2013 – Kellie Cook (Basketball)
2014 – Meghan O'Donoghue (Cross Country / Track and Field)
2015 – Katie Phillips (Soccer)
2016 – Taylor Blazei (Soccer)