Senior tennis player Gonzalo Fernandez Gil and junior softball pitcher Tatum Goff are the university’s athletes of the year.
Each year the Athletic Department names top performers in several categories. The head coaches vote on the recipients of Athletics Annual Awards.
The honorees were recently announced by the office of sports information which provided information about the athletes’ accomplishments.
GONZALO FERNANDEZ GIL
A native of Spain, Fernandez Gil earned ITA All-American honors and finished the season ranked 16th in singles and 13 in doubles. He was the ITA South Central Region Senior Player of the Year.
Fernandez Gil went undefeated in singles and doubles in Lone Star Conference competition and was the Lone Star Conference Player of the Year and Lone Star Conference Senior of the Year.
This year men’s tennis advanced to the NCAA Division II Round-of-16.
TATUM GOFF
Goff, who is from Rusk, was named a NFCA First Team All-American and was the NFCA Division II Pitcher of the Year after posting a 42-0 record.
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Softball pitcher Tatum Goff, who had a perfect 42-0 season, was named the Female Athlete of the Year. Photo by LANG WHITE/Courtesy UT Tyler Sports Information
Goff had the most wins in a season in all NCAA softball. She ranked seventh in the nation with 248 strikeouts.
The Rusk native’s accomplishments included 14 shutouts, 23 complete games and 267 innings pitched. She had a 1.36 ERA and held batters to .184 batting average.
Softball made it to the Division II National Semifinals. The Patriots finished 62-6 and claimed South Central Region Championship, Lone Star Conference Championship and Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament Championship.
OTHER AWARDS
Other individual and team honors went to:
- S.A.A.C. Member of the Year (Marissa Agee, Cross Country and Track & FIeld)
- Men’s and Women’s Team Scholastic Award (Men’s and Women’s Tennis)
- Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year (Sergio Sola and Lauren Christl)
- Male and Female Comeback Player of the Year (Egor Shestakov and Meagan Mendazona)
- Male and Female Freshman Athlete of the Year (Kaston Mason and Martha Laremark)
- Male and Female Individual Single-Game Performance (Meagan Mendazona and Yudai Watanabe)
- Male and Female Service & Leadership Award (Ethan Bedgood and Chloe Dix)
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