University of Tennessee Athletics
Alexander named LV Athlete of the Week
May 20, 2008 | Women's Track
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- For the fourth time this season, track & field standout Annie Alexander has been named the Lady Vol Athlete of the Week. The freshman from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago was chosen Tuesday in a vote by the UT women???s media relations staff.
Alexander earned the honor by winning both the shot put and discus throw competitions at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Auburn, Ala., over the weekend.?? Her 20-point contribution helped the No. 23 Lady Vols chart a fourth-place team finish at the meet.
In the shot, Alexander hurled the ball 56 feet, 6 3/4 inches on her final attempt to overtake Florida???s Mariam Kevkhishvili for the victory.?? That triumph gave the UT rookie a season indoor/outdoor sweep in that event at the conference level, making her the first female in SEC history to pull off that feat as a freshman.
Alexander became the initial UT woman to win the shot at the league outdoor meet since Alana Preston did so in 1996.?? In addition to Alexander and Preston, only Lady Vols Patricia Walsh (1983) and Rosemarie Hauch (1981, 1982) have won the event outdoors in league action.
After taking the shot crown on Saturday night, Alexander returned to Auburn???s Hutsell-Rosen Track on Sunday to stake her claim to the discus.?? Again, on her final attempt, she delivered her finest effort, stretching the tape measure to a career-best and facility-record mark of 187-6 and collecting 10 more points for first place.?? Only two other throwers had previously turned in better tosses in the history of women???s competition in the SEC.
Adding to the excitement was the fact that Alexander officially broke her country???s national record in the process. After being confirmed with a steel tape, her fling negated the prior mark of 182-1, set by former Georgia thrower Rhonda Hackett in 2000.?? The Lady Vol standout brought the school its seventh SEC Outdoor discus title, its first since Diane Slinden???s in 2002.
This marks Alexander???s fourth LVAOTW award of the season.?? She also received distinction on Jan. 15, April 15 and May 12.?? She is the school???s record-holder indoors and out in the shot and ranks third in the discus.?? Among her awards indoors were SEC Indoor Freshman Field Athlete of the Year, First-Team Indoor All-SEC and SEC Indoor All-Freshman Team.
Alexander and her qualified teammates will return to action on May 30-31, as they travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the NCAA Mideast Regional at John McDonnell Field.
