COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Her coach calls her one of the hardest working members of his team. That every day dedication to improving her game is one of the key elements in sophomore golfer Haley Davidson being selected the winner of Tennessee Tech Athletics Unsung Leader Award for the month of March.
"After a very challenging fall semester, Haley has come back extremely focused and driven this fall," said Polk Brown, TTU head women's and men's golf coach. "She is currently one of the hardest workers on the team."
A communications major from Chattanooga, Davidson played in four tournaments during the fall portion of the Golden Eagle schedule, and has seen playi in four tournaments this spring. In all, she has played 20 tourney rounds this season, posting a career-best score of 81 during the F&M Bank APSU Iintercollegiate on Oct. 13 in Clarksville. Her tournament low came a week later at theBlue Raider Invitational with a 54-hole total of 269.
Last year as a freshman, Davidson played in six tournaments for Brown's squad.
"Haley has really shown drive and determination to not only improve her game, but to also push her teammates to surpass their own potential," Brown explained. Since this semester began, she has been constantly encouraging her teammates. Since returning for the spring semester, she seems to have found a newfound drive and I am excited to see what the future holds for her.
Davidson was a five-year letterwinner at Signal Mountain High School in Chattanooga, helping to lead her team to four consecutive TSSAA Class A-AA State Championship titles from 2009 to 2012. She was a four-time district and regional champion for SMHS. She finished 11th or better each of her four seasons in the TSSAA Class A-AA State Championship Tournamen, collecting an 11th place finish her freshman season, fifth as a sophomore, ninth as a junior, and second during her senior year. She was a Chattanooga Times-Free Press Best of Preps selection four times and earned the Leadership Award while at SMHS.
The daughter of Ron and Cristi Davidson, she is majoring in communications/journalism.
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), Jordan Hopkins (baseball in January), and Olivia Bennett (softball in February).
