GENERAL
SoCon announces postgraduate scholars
Ten student-athletes honored with $2,000 scholarships
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its 10 postgraduate scholarship recipients for the 2021-22 academic year Friday.
This year’s honorees include: David Knight Scholarship recipient Alexis Tomlin (Wofford); Dave Hart Scholarship recipient Hamp Sisson (Furman); Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship recipients Drew Singerman (Furman) and Sarah Anschutz (VMI); Dorothy Hicks Scholarship recipient Kayla White (UNC Greensboro); William V. Moore Scholarship presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith recipient Carter Unger (Western Carolina); and Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship recipients Jessica Cullins (UNC Greensboro), Zoë Perrin (Samford), Cooper Long (Chattanooga) and Clay Summers (Western Carolina).
The recipients are nominated by their schools and selected by the Southern Conference Graduate Scholar Committee. The scholarships, worth $2,000 each, are awarded to student-athletes about to receive their undergraduate degrees who intend to pursue advanced degrees in graduate or professional school. The student-athletes are evaluated on academics, athletics and community service.
Alexis Tomlin, Wofford – David Knight Scholarship
Wofford’s Alexis Tomlin is the recipient of the 2022 David Knight Scholarship. A forward on the women’s basketball team, she started all 31 games for the Terriers this season. She led the team in rebounding and blocks and was ranked fourth and fifth in the SoCon in those categories, respectively. She finished the season with six double-doubles for a team that ended its season in the Women’s NIT. Tomlin was named first-team All-Tournament after the Ingles SoCon Basketball Championship and named to the SoCon Sports Media Association All-Southern Conference third team. She completed her career with 634 points and 543 rebounds. As a biology and mathematics major with a 4.0 GPA, she was the co-president for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for the last two years and a member since 2018. She was also a member of the Wofford Dean’s List and Southern Conference Honor Roll each year of her college career. In 2020, Tomlin became a campus ambassador for Gift of Life Marrow Registry and part of the COVID Response Student Leadership Team. As an ambassador for Gift of Life, she worked on the Wofford campus to educate the community about saving lives of those battling cancer through hosting drives and recruiting new donors. The group’s special emphasis this year was to increase diversity within the registry so that anyone, regardless of ethnic and racial background, has the chance to find a match. Her involvement in the SAAC and the COVID response team helped her get involved with Strides for Survivors and Safe Homes Rape Crisis Coalition as well as bringing awareness to the health of everyone on campus during the pandemic. The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, native is preparing to go to medical school following graduation.
Hamp Sisson, Furman – Dave Hart Scholarship
Furman quarterback Hamp Sisson is the 2022 recipient of the Dave Hart Scholarship. Sisson, a two-year captain for the Paladins, was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 6, 2021, throwing for 362 yards and three touchdowns versus North Carolina A&T. His 362 yards were the second-most in a game in Furman history. He was also featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays in 2019 when he pushed teammate Devin Abrams through the defense late in a game against Chattanooga to help Furan get a touchdown a seal a victory. The Birmingham, Alabama, native has been a part of the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll the last three seasons and was named SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week twice. On campus, he has been the president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) since 2020. In 2020, he also became a certified tax assistant through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), a program that helps low-income individuals file income tax returns and identify refund opportunities. In 2021, Sisson organized the Rise Against Hunger Event at Furman, an event that raised over $14,000 to package 42,000 meals for those in need. He has also visited residents at The Woodlands, a local retirement community, monthly during his entire college career. The health sciences major hold a 4.0 GPA and was on the Dean’s List each year. He also became a member of Phi Eta Sigma Freshman Honor Society in 2019, Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society in 2020 and Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society in 2022. Along with those academic honors, he was a finalist for the 21st Annual Athletic Director’s Association Postgraduate Scholarship and was on the FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team. Sisson will begin medical school in June 2023.
Drew Singerman, Furman – Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship
Furman’s Drew Singerman is one of the two recipients of the Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship. Singerman has been on the Paladin’s men’s tennis team for five seasons. He has been the team captain since 2020 and won 15 singles matches and earned three doubles victories this season. This year’s winner of the Southern Conference Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award, he had a 2-0 singles performance in the conference tournament and was recognized as the Student Athlete of the Week on May 2. His first SoCon recognition came in 2018 when he was named Player of the Week for his play from Feb. 12-19 of that year. In 2019, he had a 17-0 singles record and was named second-team All-Southern Conference. He was named the team’s MVP in 2018 and 2019, as well. Singerman is a four-time SoCon Honor Roll member, earning the Commissioner’s Medal each time. He is also a four-time International Tennis Association Academic All-American Nominee. In 2019 and 2021, the Louisville, Kentucky, resident was a Google Cloud All-District and All-American Nominee. In addition to that, he won four awards on campus in 2021: the Jerry R. Thomas Award in Health Sciences, the Winston Babb Memorial Award, the John M. Block Academic Award and the Scholarship Cup Graduation Award. The health sciences major has a 4.0 GPA and served as the programming chair and finance chair of the Alpha Epsilon Delta AED (Pre-Med) Club, which he became a member of in 2019. In the community, Singerman has been involved with the Valiant Player Initiative Greenville by making facility visits at children’s hospitals, Harvest Hope Food Distribution in Greenville and Hand-in-Hand Ministries in Louisville distributing supplies for families. He is headed to medical school this fall at either the University of Louisville, the University of Kentucky or the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville.
Sarah Anschutz, VMI – Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship
VMI’s women’s soccer player Sarah Anschutz is one of two recipients of a Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship. After missing her first season in 2018 due to injury, she came back to play in 49 games with 41 starts in her career, including every game from her junior and senior seasons. She was voted team captain during her senior year and responded by earning the Hard Hat Award for the second straight year as the hardest worker on the team and Hot Wheel Award as the player who best represents VMI women’s soccer through athletics, academics and the military. Both of those awards were voted on by her teammates. Anschutz was also elected to the VMI Women’s Soccer Leadership Council in 2020 and 2021. The biology major has a 3.873 GPA and was on the Dean’s List and Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll and received academic stars on her uniform each year of college. In 2019, she won the Paul Meyer ’24 Award for the high cumulative GPA for a freshman in the biology department. The Littleton, Colorado, native also won the Commissioner’s Medal and Air Force Scholar Award on campus in 2019. In 2021, she received an internship through the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP). Her community service work began back to 2015 when she was in high school and became a volunteer with the Colorado Rush Thunder Program when she helped create games for youth special needs. As the years went on, Anschutz became involved with Cadet Equity Association Echo Company, Denver Rescue Mission, Brookdale Nursing Home and Habitat for Humanity. She also tutors fellow cadets on campus in the Miller Academic Center. She has been accepted into the University of Lynchburg’s PA medicine program and plans to go on to the Doctor of Medical Science program.
Kayla White, UNCG – Dorothy Hicks Scholarship
UNCG volleyball player Kayla White is the 2022 Dorothy Hicks Scholarship recipient. She came to the Spartans in 2021 after graduating from Metro State. Her presence was felt immediately on the court as she started all 30 matches and led the team in kills (449) and service aces (48) en route to being named the SoCon Player of the Year and first-team All-SoCon. White was named Southern Conference Player of the Week four times and was the Offensive Player of the Month in September and October. The Montgomery, Alabama, native is a NCAA Women of the Year Finalist and a Top 30 Senior Class candidate. She was named an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention, AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention and VolleyballMag.com All-American Honorable Mention and earned spots on the CoSIDA Academic All-America third team and the CoSIDA Academic All-District first team. White was ranked in the top 50 nationally in seven categories including service aces, total kills, total attacks and points. She is currently getting her MBA at UNCG after graduating from Metro State with 3.96 GPA last year. She has been on the Dean’s List each year of college beginning in 2017. In 2020, she was named Academic Player of the Year while at Metro State. She has been a member of SAAC since she entered college five years ago. In addition to that, she participates in the Food for Thought and Out of the Garden programs. Food for Thought is a nonprofit organization providing students in low-income households with weekend meals and Out of the Garden is a nonprofit providing families with meals throughout the week by sending out 2,000 meals per month.
Carter Unger, Western Carolina – William V. Moore Scholarship presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith
Western Carolina’s Carter Unger is the recipient of the 2022 William V. Moore Scholarship presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith. She has been a part of the Catamounts’ track & field team since 2018, competing mainly in the pole vault. In 2019, she placed third in the pole at the SoCon Outdoor Track & field Championships. Two years later, Unger had her personal-best performance at the same meet when she cleared a height of 3.52 meters. The Chapin, South Carolina, resident was named to the Academic All-SoCon Team each year of her career. In 2020, she earned a Southern Conference Commissioner’s Medal. From 2018-20, she volunteered at the Cullowhee Valley School during Thanksgiving lunch and with the Walk to School program. She also contributed to the Christmas Connections of Jackson County during her entire college career. Her volunteer work expanded to Forensic Search and Recovery later in her college years. She was with the group in Richland County, South Carolina, during 2020 and Cherokee County, South Carolina, in 2021. The criminal justice and anthropology major has a 3.84 GPA and is headed to the Texas Tech University to begin her anthropology M.A. program this fall.
Jessica Cullins, UNCG – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
UNCG’s Jessica Cullins is the recipient of a 2022 Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship. Cullins competed for the Spartans as a member of the cross country and track & field teams for four years. The Clayton, North Carolina, native made her debut for the Spartans in 2018 during the cross country season. She would clock her career-best time in the 5K that year at the High Point University VertCross Invitational. On the track, she competed in various events in her career ranging from the 4x400-meter relay to the 3,000-meter run. Cullins became a member of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society in 2019 and Golden Chain Honor Society in 2021. She also served as a university marshal in 2021. She has a 3.8 GPA and began her matriculation in the accelerated master’s program in consumer, apparel and retail studies in spring 2021. Her work also got her named to the SoCon Honor Roll in 2021. Outside of campus, she worked packaging food for those that are less fortunate since her first semester of school.
Zoë Perrin, Samford – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
Samford women’s soccer player Zoë Perrin is the recipient of a 2022 Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship. Perrin spent four years on the team and saw time in 35 games during her career. She showcased a flare for the dramatics twice this season with game winners versus Jacksonville State and Mercer, with the latter coming in the SoCon Championship semifinals. During her time in Birmingham, the Bulldogs captured four regular-season SoCon titles and two tournament titles, in 2019 and 2021. In the classroom, the exercise science major boasts a 3.874 GPA and was on the Dean’s List during every semester. In the community, she wrote letters to nursing home patients at Brookdale Senior Living. In addition to that, she worked with Girl’s Inc of Central Alabama as a pen pal with inner-city youth and Girls Love Mail to send letters to breast cancer patients. After graduation, the Mandeville, Louisiana, native will stay in the Southern Conference as she begins graduate school at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga this summer.
Cooper Long, Chattanooga – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
Chattanooga’s Cooper Long is the recipient of a 2022 Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship. He was a four-year member of the men’s tennis team. He won 17 singles matches and was part of 12 doubles victories. In the 2018-19 year, he was 5-0 in duals and 4-0 as the No. 6 player. While injuries derailed much of his final two seasons at UTC, he remained active in the area. He was an intern at the Chattanooga Food Bank and meal server at Chattanooga Community Kitchen. Long also helped coordinate Night to Shine and planned the Serving It Up for Siskin Charity Tennis Tournament. The biology major was a member of the Dean’s List and SoCon Honor Roll and earned ITA Scholar Athlete recognition each year of college. The Hixson, Tennessee, native graduated magna cum laude in the spring of 2021 with a final GPA of 3.736. Long will begin his journey to become a dentist in the fall at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences, College of Dentistry.
Clay Summers, Western Carolina – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
Western Carolina’s Clay Summers is the recipient of a 2022 Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship. Summers is a runner on the Catamounts’ cross country and track & field teams. He began his athletic career in 2019 in the Covered Bridge Open. One year later, the Advance, North Carolina, native became a team captain and held that position until this year. The biology major received the 2019-20 WCU Brinson Honors College Scholarship. That same school term saw him achieve a 4.0 GPA. He was named to the WCU Chancellor’s List from 2019-21 and was a member of the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll during that same span. Summers has been a tutor on campus, volunteer coach for a local high school cross country team and the Chancellor’s Box Assistant at Western Carolina football games. He was also part of the Christmas Connections Shoebox Packing program along with the Chancellor’s Ambassadors. In June, he will begin graduate work at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill studying accounting.
This year’s honorees include: David Knight Scholarship recipient Alexis Tomlin (Wofford); Dave Hart Scholarship recipient Hamp Sisson (Furman); Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship recipients Drew Singerman (Furman) and Sarah Anschutz (VMI); Dorothy Hicks Scholarship recipient Kayla White (UNC Greensboro); William V. Moore Scholarship presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith recipient Carter Unger (Western Carolina); and Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship recipients Jessica Cullins (UNC Greensboro), Zoë Perrin (Samford), Cooper Long (Chattanooga) and Clay Summers (Western Carolina).
The recipients are nominated by their schools and selected by the Southern Conference Graduate Scholar Committee. The scholarships, worth $2,000 each, are awarded to student-athletes about to receive their undergraduate degrees who intend to pursue advanced degrees in graduate or professional school. The student-athletes are evaluated on academics, athletics and community service.
Alexis Tomlin, Wofford – David Knight Scholarship
Wofford’s Alexis Tomlin is the recipient of the 2022 David Knight Scholarship. A forward on the women’s basketball team, she started all 31 games for the Terriers this season. She led the team in rebounding and blocks and was ranked fourth and fifth in the SoCon in those categories, respectively. She finished the season with six double-doubles for a team that ended its season in the Women’s NIT. Tomlin was named first-team All-Tournament after the Ingles SoCon Basketball Championship and named to the SoCon Sports Media Association All-Southern Conference third team. She completed her career with 634 points and 543 rebounds. As a biology and mathematics major with a 4.0 GPA, she was the co-president for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for the last two years and a member since 2018. She was also a member of the Wofford Dean’s List and Southern Conference Honor Roll each year of her college career. In 2020, Tomlin became a campus ambassador for Gift of Life Marrow Registry and part of the COVID Response Student Leadership Team. As an ambassador for Gift of Life, she worked on the Wofford campus to educate the community about saving lives of those battling cancer through hosting drives and recruiting new donors. The group’s special emphasis this year was to increase diversity within the registry so that anyone, regardless of ethnic and racial background, has the chance to find a match. Her involvement in the SAAC and the COVID response team helped her get involved with Strides for Survivors and Safe Homes Rape Crisis Coalition as well as bringing awareness to the health of everyone on campus during the pandemic. The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, native is preparing to go to medical school following graduation.
Hamp Sisson, Furman – Dave Hart Scholarship
Furman quarterback Hamp Sisson is the 2022 recipient of the Dave Hart Scholarship. Sisson, a two-year captain for the Paladins, was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 6, 2021, throwing for 362 yards and three touchdowns versus North Carolina A&T. His 362 yards were the second-most in a game in Furman history. He was also featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays in 2019 when he pushed teammate Devin Abrams through the defense late in a game against Chattanooga to help Furan get a touchdown a seal a victory. The Birmingham, Alabama, native has been a part of the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll the last three seasons and was named SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week twice. On campus, he has been the president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) since 2020. In 2020, he also became a certified tax assistant through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), a program that helps low-income individuals file income tax returns and identify refund opportunities. In 2021, Sisson organized the Rise Against Hunger Event at Furman, an event that raised over $14,000 to package 42,000 meals for those in need. He has also visited residents at The Woodlands, a local retirement community, monthly during his entire college career. The health sciences major hold a 4.0 GPA and was on the Dean’s List each year. He also became a member of Phi Eta Sigma Freshman Honor Society in 2019, Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society in 2020 and Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society in 2022. Along with those academic honors, he was a finalist for the 21st Annual Athletic Director’s Association Postgraduate Scholarship and was on the FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team. Sisson will begin medical school in June 2023.
Drew Singerman, Furman – Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship
Furman’s Drew Singerman is one of the two recipients of the Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship. Singerman has been on the Paladin’s men’s tennis team for five seasons. He has been the team captain since 2020 and won 15 singles matches and earned three doubles victories this season. This year’s winner of the Southern Conference Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award, he had a 2-0 singles performance in the conference tournament and was recognized as the Student Athlete of the Week on May 2. His first SoCon recognition came in 2018 when he was named Player of the Week for his play from Feb. 12-19 of that year. In 2019, he had a 17-0 singles record and was named second-team All-Southern Conference. He was named the team’s MVP in 2018 and 2019, as well. Singerman is a four-time SoCon Honor Roll member, earning the Commissioner’s Medal each time. He is also a four-time International Tennis Association Academic All-American Nominee. In 2019 and 2021, the Louisville, Kentucky, resident was a Google Cloud All-District and All-American Nominee. In addition to that, he won four awards on campus in 2021: the Jerry R. Thomas Award in Health Sciences, the Winston Babb Memorial Award, the John M. Block Academic Award and the Scholarship Cup Graduation Award. The health sciences major has a 4.0 GPA and served as the programming chair and finance chair of the Alpha Epsilon Delta AED (Pre-Med) Club, which he became a member of in 2019. In the community, Singerman has been involved with the Valiant Player Initiative Greenville by making facility visits at children’s hospitals, Harvest Hope Food Distribution in Greenville and Hand-in-Hand Ministries in Louisville distributing supplies for families. He is headed to medical school this fall at either the University of Louisville, the University of Kentucky or the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville.
Sarah Anschutz, VMI – Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship
VMI’s women’s soccer player Sarah Anschutz is one of two recipients of a Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship. After missing her first season in 2018 due to injury, she came back to play in 49 games with 41 starts in her career, including every game from her junior and senior seasons. She was voted team captain during her senior year and responded by earning the Hard Hat Award for the second straight year as the hardest worker on the team and Hot Wheel Award as the player who best represents VMI women’s soccer through athletics, academics and the military. Both of those awards were voted on by her teammates. Anschutz was also elected to the VMI Women’s Soccer Leadership Council in 2020 and 2021. The biology major has a 3.873 GPA and was on the Dean’s List and Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll and received academic stars on her uniform each year of college. In 2019, she won the Paul Meyer ’24 Award for the high cumulative GPA for a freshman in the biology department. The Littleton, Colorado, native also won the Commissioner’s Medal and Air Force Scholar Award on campus in 2019. In 2021, she received an internship through the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP). Her community service work began back to 2015 when she was in high school and became a volunteer with the Colorado Rush Thunder Program when she helped create games for youth special needs. As the years went on, Anschutz became involved with Cadet Equity Association Echo Company, Denver Rescue Mission, Brookdale Nursing Home and Habitat for Humanity. She also tutors fellow cadets on campus in the Miller Academic Center. She has been accepted into the University of Lynchburg’s PA medicine program and plans to go on to the Doctor of Medical Science program.
Kayla White, UNCG – Dorothy Hicks Scholarship
UNCG volleyball player Kayla White is the 2022 Dorothy Hicks Scholarship recipient. She came to the Spartans in 2021 after graduating from Metro State. Her presence was felt immediately on the court as she started all 30 matches and led the team in kills (449) and service aces (48) en route to being named the SoCon Player of the Year and first-team All-SoCon. White was named Southern Conference Player of the Week four times and was the Offensive Player of the Month in September and October. The Montgomery, Alabama, native is a NCAA Women of the Year Finalist and a Top 30 Senior Class candidate. She was named an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention, AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention and VolleyballMag.com All-American Honorable Mention and earned spots on the CoSIDA Academic All-America third team and the CoSIDA Academic All-District first team. White was ranked in the top 50 nationally in seven categories including service aces, total kills, total attacks and points. She is currently getting her MBA at UNCG after graduating from Metro State with 3.96 GPA last year. She has been on the Dean’s List each year of college beginning in 2017. In 2020, she was named Academic Player of the Year while at Metro State. She has been a member of SAAC since she entered college five years ago. In addition to that, she participates in the Food for Thought and Out of the Garden programs. Food for Thought is a nonprofit organization providing students in low-income households with weekend meals and Out of the Garden is a nonprofit providing families with meals throughout the week by sending out 2,000 meals per month.
Carter Unger, Western Carolina – William V. Moore Scholarship presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith
Western Carolina’s Carter Unger is the recipient of the 2022 William V. Moore Scholarship presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith. She has been a part of the Catamounts’ track & field team since 2018, competing mainly in the pole vault. In 2019, she placed third in the pole at the SoCon Outdoor Track & field Championships. Two years later, Unger had her personal-best performance at the same meet when she cleared a height of 3.52 meters. The Chapin, South Carolina, resident was named to the Academic All-SoCon Team each year of her career. In 2020, she earned a Southern Conference Commissioner’s Medal. From 2018-20, she volunteered at the Cullowhee Valley School during Thanksgiving lunch and with the Walk to School program. She also contributed to the Christmas Connections of Jackson County during her entire college career. Her volunteer work expanded to Forensic Search and Recovery later in her college years. She was with the group in Richland County, South Carolina, during 2020 and Cherokee County, South Carolina, in 2021. The criminal justice and anthropology major has a 3.84 GPA and is headed to the Texas Tech University to begin her anthropology M.A. program this fall.
Jessica Cullins, UNCG – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
UNCG’s Jessica Cullins is the recipient of a 2022 Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship. Cullins competed for the Spartans as a member of the cross country and track & field teams for four years. The Clayton, North Carolina, native made her debut for the Spartans in 2018 during the cross country season. She would clock her career-best time in the 5K that year at the High Point University VertCross Invitational. On the track, she competed in various events in her career ranging from the 4x400-meter relay to the 3,000-meter run. Cullins became a member of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society in 2019 and Golden Chain Honor Society in 2021. She also served as a university marshal in 2021. She has a 3.8 GPA and began her matriculation in the accelerated master’s program in consumer, apparel and retail studies in spring 2021. Her work also got her named to the SoCon Honor Roll in 2021. Outside of campus, she worked packaging food for those that are less fortunate since her first semester of school.
Zoë Perrin, Samford – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
Samford women’s soccer player Zoë Perrin is the recipient of a 2022 Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship. Perrin spent four years on the team and saw time in 35 games during her career. She showcased a flare for the dramatics twice this season with game winners versus Jacksonville State and Mercer, with the latter coming in the SoCon Championship semifinals. During her time in Birmingham, the Bulldogs captured four regular-season SoCon titles and two tournament titles, in 2019 and 2021. In the classroom, the exercise science major boasts a 3.874 GPA and was on the Dean’s List during every semester. In the community, she wrote letters to nursing home patients at Brookdale Senior Living. In addition to that, she worked with Girl’s Inc of Central Alabama as a pen pal with inner-city youth and Girls Love Mail to send letters to breast cancer patients. After graduation, the Mandeville, Louisiana, native will stay in the Southern Conference as she begins graduate school at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga this summer.
Cooper Long, Chattanooga – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
Chattanooga’s Cooper Long is the recipient of a 2022 Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship. He was a four-year member of the men’s tennis team. He won 17 singles matches and was part of 12 doubles victories. In the 2018-19 year, he was 5-0 in duals and 4-0 as the No. 6 player. While injuries derailed much of his final two seasons at UTC, he remained active in the area. He was an intern at the Chattanooga Food Bank and meal server at Chattanooga Community Kitchen. Long also helped coordinate Night to Shine and planned the Serving It Up for Siskin Charity Tennis Tournament. The biology major was a member of the Dean’s List and SoCon Honor Roll and earned ITA Scholar Athlete recognition each year of college. The Hixson, Tennessee, native graduated magna cum laude in the spring of 2021 with a final GPA of 3.736. Long will begin his journey to become a dentist in the fall at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences, College of Dentistry.
Clay Summers, Western Carolina – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
Western Carolina’s Clay Summers is the recipient of a 2022 Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship. Summers is a runner on the Catamounts’ cross country and track & field teams. He began his athletic career in 2019 in the Covered Bridge Open. One year later, the Advance, North Carolina, native became a team captain and held that position until this year. The biology major received the 2019-20 WCU Brinson Honors College Scholarship. That same school term saw him achieve a 4.0 GPA. He was named to the WCU Chancellor’s List from 2019-21 and was a member of the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll during that same span. Summers has been a tutor on campus, volunteer coach for a local high school cross country team and the Chancellor’s Box Assistant at Western Carolina football games. He was also part of the Christmas Connections Shoebox Packing program along with the Chancellor’s Ambassadors. In June, he will begin graduate work at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill studying accounting.