The Tennessee Tech University Athletic Department has announced 11 finalists for the school’s 2009 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, with the winner to be announced Sunday, July 5.
   
To be eligible for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award, students must be a senior or graduate student who has completed her athletic eligibility during 2008-09. Criteria for selecting the award include both athletic and academic accomplishments, as well as additional areas such as community involvement and public service.

The Awards Committee has selected two members of the golf and volleyball teams, two who competed in both cross country and track & field, one each from soccer and softball, one from women’s basketball, and two women’s basketball players who also competed in track & field. The finalists are:

Jessia Asplund

Jessica Asplund (Volleyball/Pecatonica, Ind.)  -- Jessica wrapped up her career as one of the outstanding players in Tech volleyball history, helping the team win the regular season and OVC Tournament titles in 2008 as a senior. A middle blocker, she led Tech with a .317 hitting percentage to rank second in the OVC, and also topped the squad with 90 total blocks to rank third in the conference. She owns two of the top three spots in Tech history for her hitting percentage in a season, and she hit .299 for her career, to rank third in Tech team history. In the community she has played a role in every activity hosted by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. During her junior season she helped gather and package items for Genesis House while also working on the Habitat for Humanity House during this past fall.

 

 

Blair Bowens

Blair Bowens (Basketball/Tuscumbia, Ala.) -- A second-team all-OVC selection, Blair led the women’s basketball team in scoring throughout the 2008-09 season. She topped her career high in back-to-back games with 24 points against Jacksonville State, and 27 against Evansville in the next game. She went on to break that mark twice, including setting her career high in her final regular season game, scoring 31 points in a 78-46 win over Jacksonville State. Blair averaged 15.2 points per game throughout the season, and scored her 1,000th career point as a Golden Eagle. Starting all 30 games for the Golden Eagles, Bowens was the recipient of the Frank Porter Award, Team MVP, free throw percentage award, and was a member of the Tennessee All-Star team. Off the court, Blair has been involved in Habitat for Humanity, Dismiss House, Adopt-A-Family, Target House, Fall Funfest, Relay for Life, and the Alpha Phi Alpha campus wide step show to benefit breast cancer. She was the 2009 recipient of the President’s Award in women’s basketball.

Madison Denman

Madison Denman (Golf/Riverwatch, Tenn.) -- Madison has contributed to the women’s golf team the past four seasons including shooting her career low round this season at the Great Smokies Collegiate with a 72 in the second round. In addition to winning the team award as Best Putter, she has earned All-Tournament honors in her career twice, including the EKU Spring Invitational during her sophomore year and the Troy State Invitational during her junior season. At the EKU Invitational she won medalist honors. Off the links she helped with several key community service initiatives with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and other organizations, including the Animal Shelter with its annual Bark in the Park.

 

 

 

Kristina Hortert

Kristina Hortert (Softball/Louisville, Ky.) -- A three-time member of the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Kristina helped carry the Tennessee Tech softball team to the title of the highest team GPA in the nation in 2008. She was named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll every semester in her tenure at Tech while serving as a leader on the field in her senior year as the only fourth-year member of the team. Her leadership extends beyond the fences as Kristina served two terms as a Student Government Senator while holding the title of President of Phi Sigma Alpha, the political science honor society in 2008-09. A member of the Honor’s Program and Mortar Board, Kristina has been a constant recipient of Dean’s List honors since 2005. She has also received several awards through her major, political science. Kristina was named the 2009 Political Science Senior of the Year, and was a finalist for the 2008 Excellence in Liberal Arts Award. As part of the Golden Eagle softball team, she has participated in numerous community service projects including Christmas Shoe Box for a Child, Bark in the Park, and Habitat for Humanity. Kristina has appeared in 105 games in three seasons, pitching 84.2 innings as well as playing in the outfield. She was also the 2009 recipient of the Coach’s Award, given annually by coach Tory Acheson, and was the 2009 recipient of the President’s Award in softball.

Katherine Lang

Katherine "Kappy" Lang (Volleyball/Muncie, Ind.) -- Kappy made a significant impact on Tennessee Tech volleyball during her career, helping the Golden Eagles march from last place to first place over the course of four seasons, winning the OVC regular season and tournament titles in 2008. She was named OVC Setter of the Week six times and was named first-team all-OVC.  In the OVC Tournament, she paced Tech to the crown and was named MVP. She set a school record with 5,084 career assists, and created a new wing in Tech’s Double-Grand Club, combining her assists and 1,240 digs. During the season she helped Tech to a 19-13 record including a 14-4 mark in the OVC. Lang helped Tech win 12 of 13 matches including winning 20 straight sets. She excelled in both the classroom and volunteer field, as well. Serving as the volleyball representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee all four seasons, she served as the SAAC president during her senior season. She helped organize a year-long effort at the Mustard Seed Ranch, worked with the SAAC canned food drive and a collection for the Genesis House. She has also helped out in her hometown with “Motivate Our Minds” as an after-school mentor.

Keri Light

Keri Light (Cross Country-Track/Kingsport, Tenn.) – In the fall, Keri earned her second consecutive all-OVC honor in cross country, finishing 12th overall in the time of 19:24.8. During the indoor track season, she was part of the school-record setting distance medley relay team that placed first, and advanced to the finals in the 800-meter run. Light set a school record during the outdoor season, clocking a 4:38.75 in the 1,500-meter run at the Austin Peay Invitational, adding it to her school record set as a sophomore in the 800m event. At the OVC outdoor championships, Light earned points in two races, and barely missed in another. Light finished seventh in the 5,000-meter run in 18:12:14, earning two points in the team standings. Earlier in the day, she was sixth in the 1,500-meter run to earn three points, posting a time of 4:43.9. She won the President’s Award in track & field.

 

 

Meagan Lyons

Meagan Lyons (Basketball-Track/Greeneville, Tenn.) -- A senior who started all 30 games for the Golden Eagle basketball team, Meagan was the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 10.3 points per game during the 2008-09 season. Despite being undersized, she was also the team’s second-leading rebounder with 4.8 per game. Meagan scored her 1,000th career point as a Golden Eagle during her senior season, and was the team’s leading scorer five different times, including a 21-point performance in a win against Morehead State. Meagan also joined Tech’s track team where she set school records in multiple events. She became the first Tech sprinter to reach the OVC finals when she ran the 100-meter hurdles in a school record time of 14.33 seconds .

Katie Morrissey

Katie Morrissey, (Soccer/Franklin, Tenn.) -- A senior co-captain on coach Becky Fletcher's soccer team, Morrissey led her team to its first Ohio Valley Conference tournament appearance since 2003. She took 10 shots during the season, including six on goal. During her four-year career, she played in 57 matches for the Golden Eagles. Katie earned the team’s student-athlete award, and contributed off the field in a variety of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee efforts, including volunteering to coach youth programs, helping at the hospital, and working with the canned food drive.

 

 

 

 

 

Stephanie Place

Stephanie Place (Cross Country-Track/Bristol, Tenn.) – Named OVC Runner of the Week five times during the 2008 cross country season, Stephanie capped off the fall campaign by earning Runner of the Year honors, the first Tech runner to capture that honor. She finished her final season of cross country with the 11 fastest 5K times in school history. During the indoor track season, she broke her own school record in winning the 3,000-meter run at the OVC Championships. She also led the team to first place in the distance medley relay with a school record performance. Shortly after running her leg of the DMR, she returned to the track to place second in the 5,000-meter run in 17:38, just two seconds behind the school record mark she established as a junior. In all, Place accounted for 28 of Tech's 37 points at the meet. An injury kept her sidelined during the outdoor season. She was named Tech’s Outstanding Female Athlete for 2009, and won the President’s Award in cross country.

 

Allison Price

Allison Price (Basketball-Track /Alpharetta, Ga.) -- As Tech’s starting point guard and co-captain, Allison led the Golden Eagle basketball team with 113 assists on the season, and also averaged 6.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. She started all 30 games and scored a season-high 17 points against Austin Peay in a 69-53 win on Senior Day. After basketball season, Price joined the track team, where she set two school records at the OVC Outdoor Championships. Price ran the 400-meter dash in a record 58.64 seconds, before setting a school record in the 200-meter dash, finishing in 25.28 seconds. In 2008, she received the All-American strength and conditioning award. She also received the John P. Hendrix award in 2008. As a women’s basketball representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Allison helped organize and collect goods for the Genesis House, and helped make donations to the Mustard Seed Ranch, in addition to other community service projects. Allison also volunteered to read the second grade students at Algood Elementary School, and took part in “Isaiah Feed the Hungry” in Atlanta, Ga. at Christmas time.

Ashley Spangler

Ashley Spangler (Golf/Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) -- Ashley has proven to be amongst the best in Tech women’s golf history. During her career she played in 74 total rounds, shooting her career low in the first round at the Draper Valley Invitational (69). She has earned All-Tournament honors three times during her career. She was a two-time member of the OVC’s Sportsmanship award presented to a school. She has also been a two-time member of an All-OVC team. She was named her team’s MVP as a junior. She has also served on the Student-Atahlete Advisory Committee as secretary and vice-president, as well as participating in numerous SAAC activities. She has been on the Dean’s List three times and was a constant presence on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.