University of Tennessee Athletics
Lofton receives SEC Sportsmanship Award
June 10, 2008 | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. ??? University of Tennessee basketball player Chris Lofton and University of Florida golfer Jessica Yadloczky have been named recipients of the inaugural SEC Sportsmanship Award, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive announced Tuesday.?? The winners will be forwarded for nomination to the NCAA for its national sportsmanship awards, to be announced in July.
The two were chosen by a vote of the SEC Directors of Athletics.
???Sportsmanship is one of the core values of athletics,??? said Slive.?? ???Student-athletes can learn life???s lessons by participating in sports in a manner that classroom teaching cannot accomplish.?? Sportsmanship is one of those lessons.?? I congratulate Chris and Jessica for championing the cause of sportsmanship this year and earning this prestigious honor.???
Lofton, a senior from Maysville, Ky., played the entire 2007-08 basketball season with cancer without letting anyone know, even teammates.?? The disease was detected after the Vols??? NCAA Tournament game against Long Beach State on March 16, 2007.?? He underwent treatments in April and May of 2007.
Lofton went through the ordeal ??? surgery, radiation, recovery and all of the emotional distresses that go along with it ??? without very few people knowing about it.?? He made no excuses whenever he was feeling down or had a sub-par performance on the playing floor.??
During his senior season, Lofton helped lead the Vols to a 31-5 record, the SEC title and a NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 berth.?? He led Vols in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per game, while playing 30 minutes per game.?? His numbers were below his junior season efforts, when he was named the SEC Player of the Year, averaging 20.8 points per game.?? But, he made his final college campaign about the ???team??? rather than himself, by taking the focus off of himself.
Today, Lofton is cancer free and his message to fellow cancer survivors is, ???You can beat it.?????
Yadloczky, a freshman from Casselberry, Fla., finished fifth in the SEC with her season average of 74.00 strokes per round.?? She helped lead the Gators to the SEC title and a ninth place finish in the NCAA Golf Championships this season.
Her best outing was a tie for second at the Northrup/Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif., where on the last green; she made a decision for sportsmanship.?? During the second round, Yadloczky realized that her ball had moved after she addressed it.?? The freshman did not know that she needed to replace the ball to avoid further penalty and then putted out.??
Immediately after the round, Yadloczky explained the situation to her coach, but because she had not replaced the ball before she putted out, the penalty became two strokes.?? She ended up finishing second in the tournament by just one stroke.
Because of her sportsmanship, she has brought honor to herself, to her school and to her sport.??
Other male nominees for the 2008 SEC Sportsmanship Award were:?? Ben Tschepikow, baseball, Arkansas; Jay Moseley, golf, Auburn; James Smith, football, Florida; Jacob Tamme, football, Kentucky; and the University of South Carolina baseball team.
Other female nominees for the 2008 SEC Sportsmanship Award were:?? Alison Harter, soccer, Arkansas; Adrienne Mills, gymnastics, Auburn; and Sara Pollock, soccer, LSU.
