Fifth in a series
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COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- LeeAnn Mongar Shurette’s Golden Eagle
resume is one of the most impressive in Tennessee Tech athletics
history. It includes not only success on the softball field, but
Academic All-America selections and TTU Woman of the Year honors
that reflect her overall contributions to the university. Those
credentials have landed her in the Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
Mongar Shurette is one of five people who will be inducted at
the annual Hall of Fame Dinner, scheduled for Friday night in the
Multipurpose Room of the Roaden University Center. The induction
dinner is part of Homecoming festivities. Tickets for the dinner,
or the Saturday afternoon game against Southeast Missouri, can be
purchased through the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center or by
calling (931) 372-3940.
A starter on the softball team from the day she set foot on
campus, Mongar helped take the Golden Eagles to two NCAA
Tournaments and capture two Ohio Valley Conference regular season
and tournament championships. The power-hitting first baseman
batted fourth in the lineup for four seasons (2000-03) and was one
of the most dangerous hitters in the league, helping the team
produce a combined 161-94 record and an astounding 65-17 mark
against OVC foes.
With Mongar clubbing extra base hits from the cleanup spot, the
Golden Eagles rolled to Ohio Valley Conference tournament
championships in 2001 and 2003 and she was a three-time first-team
All-OVC selection.
Her grades placed her on the OVC Commissioner’s Academic
Honor Roll all four years and she was a member of the Athletic
Director’s Honor Roll in each of her eight semesters. In
2002, she was voted CoSIDA Academic All-District followed by
Academic All-America. She repeated those two honors as a senior in
2003. She is one of just six student-athletes in Tech history to
win multiple Academic All-America awards.
She capped off her list of academic awards with back-to-back
President’s Awards for her sport and was chosen as
Tech’s NCAA Woman of the Year in 2003.
Her success on the field mirrored her classroom achievements. She
was voted first-team All-OVC three straight seasons, and named
all-region in 2002. That same year she was selected the OVC Player
of the Year. She played her way onto the OVC all-tournament team
all four seasons.
She was chosen the team MVP in 2002 and was also winner of the
Best Offensive Player award as a junior.
As a freshman, she helped Tech post its first-ever 40-win season
with a 40-36 mark. The team went on to reach the 40-win plateau
three of her four seasons. That year, she topped Tech in home runs
and RBI.
In Mongar’s sophomore season, Tech went 44-20 and won the
OVC regular season and tournament titles, and was an NCAA
Tournament Play-In participant. Tech posted a 36-23 overall record
in 2002 while tying the school record with 17 wins (17-3) in OVC
play. She set the school record for home runs (12) and RBI (47),
and was also Tech’s leader in batting average, hits and
doubles.
As a senior, Mongar and her teammates (including 2013 Hall of Fame
inductee Stephanie Dallmann) cruised to a gaudy 41-16 overall
record and a second consecutive 17-3 mark in the league to win the
regular season title. Mongar led the team in doubles, home runs and
RBI as Tech captured another OVC Tournament crown and advanced to
the Texas Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
She wrapped up her career ranked first in doubles (52), home runs
(34) and RBI (154), and was second (to Dallmann) in hits (244) and
total bases (407). She was third in at bats (736) and sixth in
batting average (.334). She was named three times as the OVC Player
of the Week.
In 2004, she received her bachelor’s degree from Tennessee
Tech in health and physical education. LeeAnn and her husband, Burt
(a former Golden Eagle football player), were married in 2004. They
have two sons, Stonewall (8) and Rock (4).