July 26, 2012

Tech nets 96 on OVC Honor Roll and 16 Academic Medals; Two teams top Academic lists

Tennessee Tech placed 96 student-athletes on the Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll, 16 Golden Eagles earned the Medal of Honor for the highest GPA in their sport and two teams won the OVC Team Academic Achievement Award.

Golden Eagle softball and men's basketball claim
OVC Team Academic Achievement Awards

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech placed 96 student-athletes on the Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll for the 2011-2012 academic year, with 16 Golden Eagles earning the OVC Medal of Honor for posting the highest grades in their sport. In addition, two Golden Eagle teams -- softball and men’s basketball -- won OVC Team Academic Achievement Awards.

The honors were announced Thursday by the league office.

"Student-athletes at Tennessee Tech truly personify the meaning of the term,” said TTU Director of Athletics Mark Wilson. “Success within the academic realm is expected consistently, and these awards represent the standard that has been set for both athletic and academic performances at Tennessee Tech."

"We are extremely proud of the academic success of our student-athletes and our teams,” he said. “I congratulate each of them for being named to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll, winning the Medal of Honor, and earning the Team Academic Achievement Award.”

Several Golden Eagle teams led the league or were near the top of their sport for the number of student-athletes on the list. Tech’s softball team paved the way with 16 athletes making the honor roll, also leading the conference with the most players named to the list. Several other Golden Eagle teams placed in the top two for having the most student athletes claiming the honor roll. Men’s basketball (4) and women’s track & field (14) also showed league best numbers.

"Individually and as teams, our student-athletes, coaching staffs and administration are doing an outstanding job of keeping their focus on academic achievement," said TTU Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Jeff Roberts.

The Medal of Honor, given to the student-athlete who achieves the highest grade point average in a conference-sponsored sport, went to 16 TTU athletes, the third-largest total in school history.

The league also announced that Tennessee Tech's softball and men's basketball teams are the recipients of OVC Team Academic Achievement Awards. The team awards are presented annually in each of the 16 Conference-sponsored sports to the member institution's team with the greatest percentage of its eligible student-athletes who achieved a 3.25 grade point average or higher.

The team/institution honorees are:

Baseball: Murray State
Men's Basketball: Tennessee Tech
Women's Basketball: Eastern Illinois
Men's Cross Country: Murray State
Women's Cross Country: Southeast Missouri State
Football: Eastern Kentucky
Men's Golf: SIU Edwardsville
Women's Golf: Austin Peay
Rifle: Morehead State
Women's Soccer: Jacksonville State
Softball: Tennessee Tech
Men's Tennis: Austin Peay
Women's Tennis: UT Martin
Men's Track and Field: Eastern Kentucky
Women's Track and Field: Morehead State
Women's Volleyball: Morehead State

Two women participating in two sports each during 2011-2012 earned multiple Academic Medals of Honor -- Leah Bradley and Meghan O'Donoghue earned the honor in both cross country and track & field.

Tech’s other 2012 OVC Medal of Honor winners are: Tevis Sherfield (baseball), Kellie Cook (women's basketball), Adam McLeod (men's cross country), Elizabeth Miller (women's cross country), Ben Davis and Cody Matthews (football), Hayley Morton and Lindsey Reed (women's soccer), and Brooke Basten, Holly Thomas, Mekenzie Weems and Emma Woo (softball).

Tech’s 96 members of the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll are:

Baseball (7)
Tristan Archer

Zephan Guyear

Chad Hayes

David Hess

Nick Price

Tevis Sherfield

Andy Williams

Men’s Basketball (4)
Mitchell Hill

Riley Hunley

Dennis Ogbe

Zac Swansey