Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year Award boasts seven finalists for 2017

Posted: Apr 28, 2017

By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The countdown continues for Monday's Golden Wings Awards as the Tennessee Tech Department of Athletics will announce one of its biggest honors – the Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year Award.

Seven student-athletes have been nominated for the award, which was recently voted on by the TTU Awards Committee. This award, as well as the Male Athlete of the Year, Man of the Year and Woman of the Year, had previously been announced later in late June and early July, but has been added into the Golden Wings Awards presentation this year.

The timeframe of the awards period is the current season (2016-17 in this instance) except for baseball, softball and outdoor track & field. With those sports still competing with a large portion of their seasons still left, the previous spring campaigns (2016 in this instance) are recognized. The Man and Woman of the Year awards encompass the 2016-17 period for all sports.

The criteria for the award is strictly based on the athletic achievements of each student-athlete in the 2016-17 academic year. The seven finalists, in alphabetical order, are:

<<< Allyson Dunn | Junior | Kingsport, Tenn. | Golf
This season, Dunn put together an impressive scoring average of 76.44, which stands as the third lowest season average in program history. She was named to the All-Ohio Valley Conference team as she put together three top-five finishes and earned three All-Tournament honors. At the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate, she recorded a career-low 4-under 68 in the third round, which is the second lowest round in program history, and tied a career-best 54-hole score of 220.

Abi Gearing | Senior | Libertyville, Ill. | Soccer >>>
One of the OVC's top scorers, Gearing started in all 21 games and played for 1,940 minutes as she scored a career-high six goals and added two assists for 14 total points. She also scored two game-winning goals. In the conference, she ranked seventh in goals and points scored.

<<< Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson | Junior | Stone Mountain, Ga. | Basketball
Hickson proved herself as one of the OVC's top scorers this season as she averaged 16.9 points, four rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals in 30.2 minutes a game in 29 starts. From the field, she shot 43.5 percent and also made 116 free throws. She was selected to the All-OVC First-Team roster.

D'Airrien Jackson | Freshman | Santa Clara, Calif. | Outdoor Track & Field >>>
As a freshman, Jackson set five Tennessee Tech records with a 52.64 in the 400m, a 2:08.81 in the 800m, a 46.38 in the 4x100 relay, a 3:41.15 in the 4x400 relay and a 9:14.24 in the 4x800 relay. She was the OVC medalist in the 800m and was also named both an OVC Female Track Athlete of the Week as well as the OVC Outdoor Track Female Freshman of the Year.

<<< Kari Naerdemann | Sophomore | Herne, Germany | Soccer
One of the best goalkeepers in the OVC, Naerdemann played every minute of the 2016 campaign as she had a league-best 0.59 goals-allowed average and .869 save percentage, stopping 86 shots. She finished the season with an 11-6-4 record with 11 shutouts. She was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season and anchored the best team defense in program history, allowing a record-low 13 goal and posting a program-record 11 shutouts.

Micayla Rennick | Junior | Sacramento, Calif. | Cross Country / Indoor Track & Field >>>
Rennick's success crossed over into two athletic seasons as she was the cross country team's top performer at every meet, then set five team-highs in indoor track. In cross country, Rennick recorded her best finish in the 5K at the OVC Championship with a 17:29.8. She won the Greater Louisville Classic and finished second at the Azalea City Classic. She also recorded a Tech school record at the Crimson Classic with a 6K time of 21:20.4. In indoor track, she put together the team's best finish in the 800m (2:09.83), the mile run (4:52.22), 3,000m (9:50.99), 5,000m (17:04.23) and the Distance Medley Relay (11:35.22). She finished second in the mile run at the OVC Championships.

<<< Na'Asha Robinson | Sophomore | Huntsville, Ala. | Indoor Track & Field
Robinson followed up a fantastic freshman season with a brilliant sophomore campaign as she continued building an impressive resume on the track. During the indoor season, Robinson put together the team-best finishes in 60m (0:07.57), 200m (0:24.00), 400m (0:53.20), 4x400m relay (3:46.60) and the Distance Medley Relay (11:35.22).

The Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year Award was established in 1994, and 26 winners have been selected in the previous 23 years, including three years with co-winners.

The previous winners are:

1994 – Beth Keylon (Softball)
1995 – Taunya Lovelace (Basketball)
1996 – Stacy Hughes (Softball)
1997 – Diane Seng (Basketball)
1998 – Diane Seng (Basketball/Volleyball/Track)
1999 – Diane Seng (Basketball/Volleyball)
2000 – Diane Seng (Basketball/Volleyball)
2001 – Janet Holt (Basketball)
2002 – Janet Holt (Basketball) / Lupita Hernandez (Tennis)
2003 – Stephanie Dallmann (Softball)
2004 – Lori Bayless (Softball)
2005 – Emily Christian (Basketball)
2006 – Bonnie Bynum (Softball) / Emily Christian (Basketball)
2007 – Bonnie Bynum (Softball) / Beth Boden (Softball)
2008 – Stephanie Fischer (Softball)
2009 – Stephanie Place (Cross Country/Track)
2010 – Tacarra Hayes (Basketball)
2011 – Tacarra Hayes (Basketball)
2012 – Tacarra Hayes (Basketball)
2013 – Diamond Henderson (Basketball)
2014 – Ellie Iaciofano (Basketball/Soccer)
2015 – Danielle Liberatore (Softball)
2016 – Cody Dodd (Volleyball)