FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TENNESSEE SPORTS HALL OF FAME
ANNOUNCES 2013 HONOREE OF THE YEAR HONOREES
NASHVILLE, TN—On May 4th at the Renaissance Hotel Nashville, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame will be celebrating the induction of a great class including: Belmont University’s Rick Byrd, Penny Hardaway, and Vince Gill but the list of honorees keeps growing. The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame announced today the names of the Honorees to be recognized.
Male Amateur Athlete of the Year
Steven Fox — Fox, a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior from Hendersonville, won the most prestigious title in men’s amateur golf in the summer, capturing the U.S. Amateur at the renowned Cherry Hills Golf Club at Denver. Fox won the title when he sank a birdie putt on the first extra hole of a sudden-death playoff.
Female Amateur Athlete of the Year
Brooke Pancake –Pancake is a three-time All-American from the University of Alabama and her academic accomplishments at Alabama are just as outstanding as her golf game. Pancake received the 2012 Southeastern Conference Female Athlete of the Year award, is a four-time Academic All-American, a three-time SEC women’s golf scholar of the year and three-time NGCA Scholar Athlete. In 2012 her record setting amateur career came to a close as she joined the ranks of the LPGA.
Male Professional Athletes of the Year
American League Cy Young Winner David Price- Though drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of high school, Price did not sign, and instead chose to attend Vanderbilt University on an academic scholarship, and pitched for the baseball team for three seasons. David Price fell one category short of winning the pitching Triple Crown. That was good enough to earn the bigger prize, the American League CY Young Award.
National League Cy Young Winner R.A. Dickey -University of Tennessee alum R.A. Dickey languished in the minors for 14 years, bouncing from one team to another before finally perfecting that perplexing knuckleball that made him a major league star. Two years after R.A. Dickey was the first player cut by the New York Mets in spring training, he now has a Cy Young Award on his résumé. Dickey won the National League CY Young, becoming the first knuckleballer to receive the honor.
Brandt Snedeker – Snedeker a first-team All-American at Vanderbilt won his third PGA Tour title at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in 2012. At the 2012 Open Championship, he scored 66 and 64 in the first two rounds to equal the lowest 36 hole score in the tournament by Nick Faldo in 1992. Snedeker went on to win the 2012 FedEx Cup. Born December 8, 1980,
Matt Cain –San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Cain, from Houston High School in Germantown, Tennessee pitched the 22nd perfect game in major league history on Wednesday June 13th , 2012. Cain powered through the Houston, striking out a career-high 14 and tossing the first perfect game in San Francisco Giants history.
Outstanding Achievement
Stephen Gostkowski – Gostkowski a former all-conference in baseball and football at the University of Memphis and currently the placekicker for the New England Patriots is in his sixth year in the NFL and during that time Gostkowski has made an astonishing 87 percent of his field goal attempts for a team that plays more than half its games every year outdoors in cold-weather cities. In 2012 Gostkowski connected on 84.4 percent of his field goal attempts in his six seasons with the Patriots. His field goal accuracy was 84.8 percent in the 2012 regular season, when he made 28 of 33 tries.
Professional Team of the Year
Johnson & Johnson Racing — For NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series driver and Greeneville, TN resident Allen Johnson, racing has always been a family affair — with a distinct Tennessee flavor. In 2012, Johnson, and his father and team, would achieve their collective dream. After a 17-year journey, the Tennessee boy broke through to earn his first NHRA Pro Stock championship. He wrapped up his season in style, winning the season-ending NHRA Finals event in November in Pomona, Calif., to complete his dream season.
Amateur Teams of the Year
Tennessee Wesleyan College-NAIA Baseball World Series Champions
2012 was TWC’s third consecutive appearance in the World Series and first ever National Championship for the institution. TWC qualified for the NAIA National Tournament by winning their 11th straight Appalachian Athletic Conference Championship and advancing to the World Series by winning the National Tournament Opening Round Kingsport, TN bracket. TWC set a World Series record for homeruns by a team at 17 and tournament MVP Jordan Guida set a World Series record for individual homeruns at 7.
Chattanooga State Community College Lady Tigers softball team won the NJCAA Division I national championship.
On May 2012, in St. George, Utah, Chattanooga State Community College’s Lady Tigers Softball team became the first local team to bring home a National Championship. With 16 years of tournament appearances out of 18 years of NJCAA Division I play, the Lady Tigers not only brought home the championship trophy, but other prestigious honors as well. Chattanooga State Coach Beth Keylon-Randolph was honored as the outstanding tournament coach, while Ashley Czechner received outstanding pitcher, most valuable player, and all-tournament team honors.
For more information on the upcoming Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Induction Banquet go to www.tshf.net or you can contact the Hall directly at tnsports@bellsouth.net or 615.242.4750.