Rocha and Burgess grab top honors at 10th annual RCA's

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Softball's Summer Burgess and tennis's Francisco Rocha were the big winners at the 10th Annual Raiders' Choice Awards on Tuesday night broadcast on Facebook.com, Twitter and TrueBlue TV. The year-end "Academy Awards" style show highlighted all the academic and athletic accomplishments of the Blue Raider student-athletes for the 2020-21 academic year.

Burgess and Rocha were honored with the True Blue President's Award, which is the highest honor bestowed upon a current MT student-athlete who epitomizes all that is good in intercollegiate athletics. Presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete, the President's Award recognizes outstanding academic and athletic accomplishments, university/community service and leadership.

Both excelled in the classroom, community and on the field and court. Burgess carries an impressive 4.0 GPA in the public health master's program and put a bow on her phenomenal softball career with a .302 batting average and team highs in runs, doubles and triples this season. She also set program career records this year for hits, singles, games played, games started and assists. Rocha also owns a perfect 4.0 GPA with a double major in economics and finance and a minor in business administration. He was named Conference USA Player of the Year after posting a 23-7 mark, and was part of the C-USA championship team and earned a bid to the NCAA singles championships.

"Every year this is a very special evening where we can celebrate the accomplishments of our student-athletes but this year we all know it was a little different," said Director of Athletics Chris Massaro. "I am especially proud of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff on how they handled the hardships of the pandemic. They prepared well and put themselves in position to succeed during a time that was difficult for everyone. That requires determination and mental toughness in addition to their athletic ability. I applaud all their efforts and it's just a great night for Blue Raider Athletics."

Academically, the Student-Athlete Enhancement Center awarded the highest Team GPA honors for the spring 2020 semester, the fall 2020 semester, and the spring 2021 semester. The spring 2020 honor went to women's golf (3.91) and men's tennis (3.94), while the fall 2020 awards went to volleyball (3.78) and men's tennis (3.83). For the spring 2021 semester the winners were women's golf (3.78) and men's tennis (3.90).

In the individual categories, baseball standout Aaron Brown was voted Male Athlete of the Year, while women's track star Esther Isa earned the Female Athlete of the Year honor. Brown led Conference USA in strikeouts and became just the eighth player in school history to record over 100 Ks in a season. Isa captured C-USA Indoor titles in the high jump and triple jump to go with a title in the high jump during the C-USA Outdoor meet.

The Male and Female Newcomer of the Year awards went to Erhire Omamuyovwi from track and women's track standout Amarachukwu Obi. Omamuyovwi was the C-USA Freshman of the Year and earned 2^nd Team All-American honors, while Obi claimed a title in the 200 meters at the C-USA championships.

The Breakout Performer of the Year awards went to Taylor Edlin (women's golf) and Greg Grate (football). After making the lineup only twice as a freshman, Edlin lowered her stroke average by 2.5 strokes per round, claiming the second-best mark on the team, and boasted the lowest stroke average on the team in the spring. Grate earned first team all-conference honors after turning in a career year with 74 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, four interceptions, three pass breakups, a fumble recovery and three forced fumbles. His total stops ranked second on the team, while his four picks led the Blue Raiders and ranked eighth nationally.

Fans determined the winners of the Play of the Year, Performance of the Year, and the Game/Event of the Year by voting on GoBlueRaiders.com. The Play of the Year was Palmer Sadlowski's clutch 15-foot birdie putt to seal a career-low 5-under-par 67 and provided the Blue Raiders with their first Intercollegiate at The Grove team title. The Performance of the Year award went to soccer freshman Ashley Shimberg who put on a show at Marshall with four goals scored. The Game/Event of the Year was the C-USA championship game victory by women's basketball over Rice.
The Make-A-Difference Award went to the sports medicine staff and doctors who navigated all the Blue Raiders through the pandemic.

Numerous athletes were also recognized for their academic honors and All-American accolades.

2021 RAIDERS CHOICE AWARDS WINNERS
PRESIDENTS AWARD (MALE): Francisco Rocha, tennis
PRESIDENTS AWARD (FEMALE): Summer Burgess, softball
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Aaron Brown, baseball
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Esther Isa, track
MALE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Erhire Omamuyovwi, track
FEMALE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Amarachukwu Obi, track
FEMALE BREAKOUT PERFORMER OF THE YEAR: Taylor Edlin, golf
MALE BREAKOUT PERFORMER OF THE YEAR: Greg Grate, football
ALL-AMERICANS: Erhire Omamuyovwi (2021 Indoor T&F) - (2nd Team)

TEAM GPA AWARD/SPRING 2020: Women's Golf (3.91); Men's Tennis (3.94)
TEAM GPA AWARD/FALL 2020: Volleyball (3.78); Men's Tennis (3.83)
TEAM GPA AWARD/SPRING 2021: Women's Golf (3.78); Men's Tennis (3.90)

GAME/EVENT OF THE YEAR: The Conference USA Championship game pitted the top two seeds from the regular season and lived up to its billing as Middle Tennessee secured a 68-65 win against defending champion Rice. The game featured six lead changes and three ties in the second half. Rellah Boothe's game-clinching deflection in the final seconds sealed it.

PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR: Making her collegiate debut, freshman Ashley Shimberg put on a show with four goals against Marshall. It marked the fifth time in program history that a player scored four goals and the first time against a conference opponent.

PLAY OF THE YEAR: Palmer Sadlowski clutch 15-foot birdie putt sealed a career-low 5-under-par 67 and provided the Blue Raiders with their first Intercollegiate at The Grove team title.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE AWARD: Heroes have been aplenty and came in several different forms during the last year as the global COVID-19 pandemic impacted lives and activities on several fronts. MTSU was not without its heroes and frontline workers during this historic time. These brave individuals led the battle against COVID-19 from the front, assisting our student-athletes and working tirelessly to keep them safe and tested while also helping to keep them on the court and fields playing the sport they love. These individuals have shown selfless determination in assisting our student-athletes, at times putting their own health and families at risk. Thanks to their efforts, Middle Tennessee student-athletes, coaches and staff have remained safe and when testing positive for COVID-19, these essential workers have gone the extra mile to assure complete recovery. As a result of their efforts, Middle Tennessee was one of the first football teams to return to the gridiron in 2020 when the Blue Raiders were one of 6 games played on the first Saturday of the college football season. Every day, our selfless warriors gave their all for the betterment of our student-athletes, and when all was said and done, Middle Tennessee student-athletes competed in every sport during the 2020-21 intercollegiate season, many playing a role in championship seasons. We appreciate their efforts and selflessness during trying times, and it is with great pleasure we present the 2021 Make A Difference Award to Dr. Eric Clark, Dr. Paul Patel, Associate AD Drew Shea and the Middle Tennessee Sports Medicine Staff.

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

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