Annual UM Athletic Awards Announced
MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Eight of the top student-athletes at the University of Montevallo were honored with the announcement of the athletic department’s annual awards for 2009-10. The announcement came at the annual athletic awards banquet held on the campus of the University of Montevallo last evening (April 28).
UM recognizes the top performances each year with the Outstanding Male and Female Athlete of the Year Awards. The male receives the Neal Shirley Award while the female receives the Margaret Blalock Award. The top scholar-athletes in each gender receive the John Bennett Walters Award (male) and the Jan Eagles Award (female). The President’s Award is presented to the team with the highest grade point average among UM athletics. One student-athlete in each gender were honored with the Sportsmanship Award as the athlete that best exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship, fair play and teamwork, while representing UM in a positive manner. The student-athletes who best signify the spirit, participation and support of all UM athletic programs were selected for the DeWayne Peevy Spirit Award.
A pair of seniors was honored as the Male and Female Athletes of the Year. Baseball standout Chris Sosebee (Warrior, Ala./Sumiton Christian) was awarded the Neal Shirley Award Sosebee currently leads the Falcons in nine offensive categories with two games to play in the 2010 season. Earlier this year he tied or broke five UM records in one game against Augusta State in which he went 5-for-5 with three homeruns and 10 RBI. He currently has a .401 batting average and 56 RBI. He has 14 homeruns which is twice as many as the next nearest player on the team and has a team-leading .733 slugging percentage.
Women’s golf star Emily Gibson (Toronto, Ontario/North Toronto Collegiate) took home the Margaret Blalock Award. Gibson is the first UM golfer to be selected to an NCAA Super Regional and is only one of two golfers selected from the Peach Belt Conference. Gibson has won four tournaments this year including the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. She was also named the Peach Belt Golfer of the Year earlier this season. She will compete in the NCAA Tournament this weekend in Salisbury, N.C. She leads the PBC with a 75.6 stroke average and is ranked among the top players in Division II.
The John Bennett Walters Award and the Jan Eagles Award for the top scholar-athletes went to senior men’s golfer Tripp Cash (Troy, Ala./Pike) and senior women’s soccer midfielder Brittany Correia (Birmingham, Ala./Oak Mountain), respectively. Cash had a 3.862 GPA while finishing second on the men’s golf team in stroke average with a 76.5. He had two top-10 finishes on the season. Correia missed most of the women’s soccer season with an injury but appeared in two games with one start. She played in 14 games and started 11 in 2008 prior to being injured.
Senior baseball player Kevin Garcia (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Dunedin) and senior women’s soccer player Erin Duncan (Orlando, Fla./Olympia) were the recipients of the Sportsmanship Award. Garcia has started every game for the Falcons in centerfield this season. He is second on the team in batting average (.331), runs scored (37), homeruns (7) and RBI (41). He also leads the team in stolen bases with 15. Duncan is a leader on and off the field. She competed in 15 of the Falcons 20 games this past season and scored two goals while dishing out two assists. She is the Student Athlete Advisory Board President for the second year-in-a-row and has been honored by the Peach Belt Conference for her hard work and dedication to the student-athletes of Montevallo and the PBC.
Senior women’s volleyball rightside hitter Katie Johnson (Alabaster, Ala./Thompson) and senior women’s soccer midfielder Angela Buonassisi (Coquitlam, British Columbia/Terry Fox) were given the DeWayne Peevy Spirit Award. Johnson and Buonassisi came in late in the women’s golf season and helped fill the roster due to numerous injuries on the squad and helped the Falcons qualify for the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. The women’s golf team had a roster of five players and after numerous injuries hit the team the Falcons were unable to field a full five players at the required amount of tournaments. Johnson and Buonassisi stepped in after their senior seasons with their respective sports and picked up the game of golf and helped the Falcons compete in the required amount of tournaments which allowed the Falcons to finish third in the PBC Championship and allowed UM senior Emily Gibson to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
The President’s Award was given to the men’s golf team for the second year-in-a-row who posted a 3.375 GPA in the fall semester.
 |  |
