COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Seniors Josh Simer and Megan Bradford have each been named the Most Valuable Player of their Tennessee Tech golf team, and several additional team awards were announced to wrap up the 2009-10 season.
Men’s coach Craig King announced Simer as the winner of the third annual Gilbert Darcy Most Valuable Player Award, named to honor the father of former TTU golf captain Randy Darcy.
Women’s coach Brandy Stout announced team awards for her squad, including the repeat award for Bradford.
Simer, a senior from Bolivar, Tenn., led the Golden Eagle men’s team with a 73.2 average while playing in nine tournaments. He had five Top 10 finishes, including all-tournament honors at Murray State, North Alabama and the Frito Lay-AT&T Invitational.
After finishing no higher than 31st during the fall season, Jake Heatherly came on strong in the spring to earn the team’s Most Improved Player Award. He had three top 10 efforts, including all-tournament finishes at the North Alabama Invitational and the OVC Championships. A senior from Jacksboro, Tenn., Heatherly was second on the team with a 75.3 average.
Wes Korth, a senior from Cookeville, won the Most Dedicated Player Award. He averaged 75.8 and played in all 10 tournaments.
The Impact Award, which typically goes to a first-year player, instead went to Jared Dunn, a fifth-year senior from Cookeville, who played in four tournaments in the fall season and scored a 73.2 average.
The Best Putter Award was shared by Travis Ramsey, a junior from Grimsley, Tenn., and Lee Maxwell, a sophomore from Cookeville. Blake Garrison, a senior from Cookeville, was the unanimous winner of the Long Hitter Award.
Simer, Heatherly and Korth were named as team captains.
In women’s play, Bradford, a senior from Jackson, Tenn., repeated as the team MVP and also claimed the Most Dedicated Player Award while posting the second-lowest average on the team of 79.2. She played in all nine tournaments, was medalist at the Austin Peay F&M Bank Intercollegiate and had three finishes in the top 10.
Diana Carson, a senior from LaFollette, Tenn., won two awards while serving as the team captain in her final season. She won the Low Average Award, finishing at 78.1 while competing in eight tournaments. A second-team all-OVC selection, Carson also won the Best Putter Award.
Carley Rhyne, a junior from Powell, Tenn., was third on the team in average at 81.5 while playing in eight events. She won the Most Improved Player Award for the second straight year and was Tech’s top finisher in the OVC tournament in 20th place.
The remaining two honors went to Amanda Randolph, a freshman from Cookeville. Randolph won the Impact Award and also the Long Hitter Award. She was fourth on the team with an 82.3 average.
