Peters Named ASC’s Jacoby Sportsmanship Award Winner
June 23, 2008

The University of Texas at Tyler’s Lindsey Peters, a senior softball player from Shreveport, La., has been named the winner of the 2007-2008 American Southwest Conference Fred Jacoby Sportsmanship Award.

Peters was selected, along with Tyler Winford of Mississippi College, after a vote of the league’s athletics directors.

The ASC Fred Jacoby Sportsmanship Award honors a male and female student-athlete who best displays the attributes of sportsmanship, leadership, citizenship and academic integrity in their athletic, academic and life pursuits. Each ASC member institution may nominate its campus Sportsmanship Award winner to the conference-wide ballot. This is the ninth year the ASC has presented its Sportsmanship Award and the third year the award is being presented after being renamed in honor of the Conference’s first commissioner, Fred Jacoby.

Winford and Peters, who become the first recipients of the award from their respective institutions, will represent the American Southwest Conference on the NCAA Division III National Sportsmanship Award ballot.

Peters (Shreveport, LA / Huntington HS), a senior, strives to live her life by a set of principals and is the model, to which all coaches point, as the ideal collegiate student-athlete. She is the first person to encourage her teammates for great effort, and the first to be there to hug a teammate in despair. In the conference tournament against Howard Payne, with two outs in the last inning, one of the opposing team members was hit in the foot, by a pitch. Their young lady was barely able to move but had to stay in the game because the team was out of substitutes. She went to first base, which loaded the bases. The next batter ripped a base hit to centerfield which would have scored two runs; the injured runner was thrown out at second base. The last out was made and our team began to celebrate the come-from-behind victory. Peters, however, went straight to the player and began to check on her injury and offer to help. At the moment of joy for UT Tyler, Peters put the worry and respect for the injured player above that of her team’s excitement.

Off the field, Peters weighs every decision based on the impact it will have on others. She is a self-less and is always serving others and thinking of others. During her sophomore year, the softball team seceded they wanted to divide into groups and adopt angels from the Salvation Army tree. After the team had returned the toys and clothes for four angels, Peters asked the team a question: “How can we do more?” She decided to challenge the other teams at our university to match the number of angels we had provided for. That led to several more children being helped that Christmas, but Lindsey was still not satisfied. She asked that other conference softball teams challenge our team and in the end, nearly 50 angels had been adopted. Peters lives her life to help others. She has contributed hundreds of hours in community service by visiting hospitals, elementary schools, etc. Lindsey volunteered for every community service project offered by the softball team, instead of rotating with other student-athletes.

Winford (Madison, MS / Jackson Academy), a senior, has enjoyed a remarkable basketball career at Mississippi College while serving as a terrific example of what a collegiate student-athlete should be. His athletic accomplishments are numerous. Winford began his career by earning ASC East Division Freshman of the Year for the 2004-2005 season. During his sophomore year, Winford was again selected as MC’s Best Offensive Player and First Team All-ASC. He was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All South Region 2nd Team. He was chosen as a Street and Smith Pre-Season First Team All-American in 2005 and 2006 and a Preseason D3hoops.com All-American this year. Winford was also selected to play with USA Athletes International Team in Croatia, Italy and Bosnia last summer and finished his four-year career with a four-year record of 107-15, tops in Division III during that time. He managed to excel on the court while excelling in the classroom and the committee. He graduated with a 3.98 grade point average and will attend medical school next year at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Despite the time required for his stellar athletic and scholastic accomplishments while at MC, Winford has been very active as a member of the MC Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Leadership Team and the college ministry of the First Baptist Church of Jackson. His community activities include speaking to a high school FCA group, speaking to a group of 1st through 4th graders regarding the importance of teamwork, and to a junior high basketball team. In 2005 he assisted in Hurricane Katrina clean-up efforts in Poplarville, Miss., as well as working with Habitat for Humanity. In 2007 he volunteered at Wingard House, a homeless shelter. Winford plans to become a doctor and will eventually work with children in pediatrics. His athletic and academic career at MC have only been overshadowed by his conduct off the court. He embraced his status as a role model and made every attempt to influence young people positively.

2007-08 ASC FRED JACOBY SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD WINNERS
Male: Tyler Winford, Sr., Mississippi College (Basketball)
Female: Lindsey Peters, Sr., University of Texas at Tyler (Softball)

2007-08 ASC MEMBER?S CAMPUS SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD HONOREES
School Male Female
Concordia University Texas Bryan Jacobs (Baseball) Michelle Heckmann (VB)
East Texas Baptist University Thad Fortune (Football) Katie Graves (Volleyball)
Hardin-Simmons University Casey Jones (Baseball) Beth Craig (Soccer)
Howard Payne University -- Stacey Blalock (Basketball)
LeTourneau University -- Kaetlyn Stolzfus (Golf)
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Steven Reinlie (Baseball) Kacie Kripner (Softball)
Mississippi College Tyler Winford (Basketball) Rachel Hardin (CC/T&F)
University of the Ozarks Clint McHenry (Basketball) Jessica Pianalto (Softball)
University of Texas at Dallas -- Kelli Jackson (Soccer)
University of Texas at Tyler Kendall Fox (Baseball) Lindsey Peters (Softball)
Texas Lutheran University Dwight Bonner (Football) Alanna Gangemi (Tennis)

ALL-TIME ASC FRED JACOBY SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD WINNERS
Year Male Female
1999-2000 Joe Fox, Austin College; Courtney Shires, Mississippi College
2000-2001 Michael Kawazoe, Austin College; Sarah Birge, Austin College
2001-2002 Phil Kaiser, Ozarks; Lindsey Brotherton, Schreiner
2002-2003 Preston Meyer, Mary Hardin-Baylorl; Julie Richardson, Ozarks
2003-2004 Cody Brotherton, McMurry; Lyndsay Llewellyn, McMurry
2004-2005 Drew McMaster, Howard Payne; Katie DeDeaux, Mississippi College
2005-2006 Kyle Shipp, Mary Hardin-Baylor; Bethany Harris, Mississippi College
2006-2007 Ryan Potter, LeTourneau; Michelle Heckmann, Concordia-Austin
2007-2008 Tyler Winford, Mississippi College; Lindsey Peters, Texas-Tyler

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