COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – From the off-season, through the preseason and into the first month of the regular season, junior Olivia Bennett has been a standout presence for the Tennessee Tech softball team. She has gotten the job done both on the field and in the classroom, and that dedication and direction has earned her the Unsung Leader Award for February, a monthly honor presented by the TTU Athletics Department.
A junior from Mentone, Calif., Bennett is one of the catalysts for the recent winning ways for coach Bonnie Bynum’s squad, which heads into the weekend having won nine of the last 11 games.
“Olivia has taken the role to inspire and motivate others by what she is doing on and off the field.” Said Bynum. “Not only is she having success on the field; she is also having success in the classroom. She has bought into the processes that the coaching staff has put into place and it has shown in her performance.
“In the classroom, Olivia has taken more responsibility in her degree which is allowing her to have a better academic experience. On the field, she is leading our team in home runs and RBI, a trait that was not possessed by her the past two seasons.”
A psychology major who came to Tech prior to the 2012 season following a solid prep career at Redlands East Valley High School, Bennett played in 36 games as a freshman and 41 games in her sophomore season.
This season, she has played in all 26 games and leads Tech with seven home runs and 20 RBI. She owns a .270 batting average, collecting 25 hits in 89 at bats, with a .528 slugging percentage, and tops the team in runs scored with 20.
“Olivia will continue to grow in her sport and in the classroom with the attitude and effort that she has processed this year,” Bynum added. “At times during practice or games, she has gotten the team back into the moment with her encouragement and performance. Over the past year, Olivia has demonstrated all the qualities of the unsung leader and continues to do so.”
The Unsung Leader Award was created this year to recognize leadership by student-athletes, with an award to be presented each month throughout the academic year.
“This award recognizes leadership, which many times isn’t reflected in headlines or other ways,” said Director of Athletics Mark Wilson. “Sometimes it’s behind-the-scenes leadership that makes everybody better.
“These young men and women are leaders, pure-and-simple, not doing the right thing for recognition but to make themselves, their teammates, and their teams better,” Wilson said.
One student-athlete each month, nominated by members of the athletics staff, is selected and recognized for exemplifying outstanding leadership qualities. The leadership can be shown on the field, in the weight room, at practice, in the classroom, in study hall, on campus, in the community, for a student club or organization.
This award honors a varsity student-athlete who has made a positive impact on their team and the Tennessee Tech community as a whole, through his or her dedication to demonstrating leadership traits, such as:
* Keep Learning, Growing, and Improving
* Follow Through with Excellence
* Accomplish More than Expected
* Inspire and Motivate Others
Previous Unsung Leader Award winners have been Ellen Conti (volleyball in September), Austin Tallant (football in October), Geoffrey Sambu (cross country in November), Courtney Smith (volleyball in December), and Jordan Hopkins (baseball in January).
