HILTON HEAD, SC – UNC Greensboro's Laura Olenderski and Arsel Kumdereli are among 24 student-athletes being honored this week with the Coleman Lew Leadership Award at the Southern Conference's Annual Meetings.
Coleman Lew & Associates, Inc., a national executive search firm, and the Southern Conference, the nation's fifth oldest NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association, announced the selection of the student-athletes as recipients of the fifth annual Coleman Lew Leadership Award. The recipients will be recognized at the Southern Conference Honors Dinner on Wednesday at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Hilton Head, SC.
The award recognizes student-athletes from each of the Southern Conference's 12 member institutions. Coaches, faculty athletic representatives and senior woman administrators nominate prospective candidates based on leadership, academic excellence and athletic achievement in both the college environment and the community. Athletic directors and representatives from Coleman Lew & Associates conducted one-on-one interviews with the finalists before determining the award winners.
Olenderski will be a senior next year on the softball team. A native of Lewes, DE, she is majoring in marketing at UNCG.
Kumdereli will be a senior next year on the men's tennis team. A native of Mersin, Turkey, he is a business major at UNCG.
"Our firm, as an educational partner with the Southern Conference, is proud to present the fourth annual Coleman Lew Leadership Award to these outstanding student-athletes," said Kenneth D. Carrick, Jr., partner-managing director. "These students represent the best in academic performance, athletic skill, community service and leadership ability."
Coleman Lew & Associates, Inc., founded in 1979 and headquartered in Charlotte, NC, is a national retained executive search firm that recruits board members, officers and senior level executives for national and international companies, academic institutions and non-profit organization. The firm also provides customized leadership development services to organizations seeking to maximize corporate performance.
The Southern Conference, in its 88th season of intercollegiate competition, is a national leader in emphasizing the development of the student-athlete and helping build lifelong leaders and role models. The conference has been on the forefront of innovation and originality in developing creative solutions to address issues facing intercollegiate athletics. From establishing the first conference basketball tournament (1921), tackling the issues of freshman eligibility (1922), developing women's championships (1984) to becoming the first conference to install the three-point goal in basketball (1980), the Southern Conference has been a pioneer.
The Southern Conference is the nation's fifth-oldest NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association, currently consisting of 12 members in five states throughout the southeast. It sponsors 19 varsity sports and championships that produce participants for NCAA Division I Championships.
The 2009 Coleman Lew & Associates Leadership Award recipients are:
|
Name (Institution) |
Sport |
Academic Major |
|
Matt Andress (Appalachian State) |
Baseball |
Construction Management |
|
Cassandra Engelgau (Appalachian State) |
Volleyball |
Organizational Communications |
|
John Bello ( College of Charleston ) |
Soccer |
Exercise Science |
|
Emily Sawin ( College of Charleston) |
Baseball |
Business Administration |
|
Lauren Fleming (The Citadel) |
Track & Field |
Health & Wellness |
|
Clinton Smith (Davidson) |
Soccer |
English |
|
Teresa Wang (Davidson) |
Tennis |
Biology |
|
Mike Melillo (Elon) |
Baseball |
Business Administration |
|
Lauren Griffith (Elon) |
Soccer |
Accounting & Spanish |
|
Jonathan Collier (Furman) |
Soccer |
Business Administration |
|
Lana Mackey (Furman) |
Softball |
Health Exercise Science |
|
Jake Ware ( Georgia Southern) |
Baseball |
International Studies |
|
Jessica Geiger ( Georgia Southern) |
Basketball |
Marketing |
|
Arsel Kumdereli (UNC Greensboro ) |
Tennis |
Business Studies |
|
Laura Olenderski (UNC Greensboro ) |
Softball |
Marketing |
|
Wayne Miller (Samford) |
Baseball |
International Relations |
|
Natalie Fleming (Samford) |
Soccer |
Family Studies |
|
Joseph Thornton ( Chattanooga ) |
Football |
Criminal Justice |
|
Brooke Loudermilk ( Chattanooga ) |
Softball |
Art Education |
|
Timothy Jake Robinson ( Western Carolina ) |
Basketball |
Finance |
|
Katie Hennessey ( Western Carolina ) |
Volleyball |
Communication |
|
Nicklaus Schuermann (Wofford) |
Soccer |
Biology |
|
Joanna Suddath (Wofford) |
Volleyball |
Chemistry |
- UNCG -