University of Tennessee Athletics
Abbott, Gatlin Reflect on Their Time on Rocky Top
October 13, 2017 | Softball
The duo is part of this year's eight-person induction class for the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame
By Rhiannon Potkey, special to UTsports.com
Justin Gatlin had to pull over to the side of the road when he got the call.
The news he was being inducted into the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame brought tears to the eyes of the Vol sprinting great.
Before all the national titles, Olympic medals and world championships, Gatlin dreamed about having his name associated with other Tennessee sports legends.
"That is what I wanted to achieve for a very long time," Gatlin said. "Walking through the halls of Stokely and seeing the posters of all the other great Hall of Famers coming before me, I just wanted to be a part of this and stand shoulder to shoulder to them."
Gatlin and Tennessee softball pitching star Monica Abbott held a news conference on Friday afternoon at the Ray and Lucy Hand Digital Studio to discuss their Hall of Fame induction and memories of representing Tennessee.
They are part of a star-studded 2017 class that includes Todd Helton (baseball), Phillip Fulmer (coach; football), the late Gen. Robert Neyland (coach; football), Ray Bussard (coach; men's swimming), Jeremy Linn (men's swimming) and Delisa Walton Myricks (women's track).
The class is being celebrated this weekend with a private induction ceremony on Friday night and recognition at the football game against South Carolina on Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium.
"I just want to say how excited and how honored I am to be going into the University of Tennessee Hall of Fame this weekend. It's an incredible experience," Abbott said. "My four years at Tennessee with the softball program were something that changed my life forever, and it's very humbling to be able to come back here and remember all the good times and to see the tradition and foundation that has been laid with the softball program and also at the university."
Arguably the greatest pitcher in softball history, Abbott finished her four-year career on Rocky Top as the NCAA's career leader in victories (189), strikeouts (2,440), shutouts (112) and appearances (253). The left-hander led the country in wins in each of her four seasons at Tennessee and set the single-season record for strikeouts with 724 in 2007.
Abbott is one of only two players in program history to earn NFCA All-America honors four times, and is the only Vol softball player to win the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award (2007). The Salinas, California, native also won the prestigious Honda Award in 2007, and was a three-time SEC Pitcher of the Year (2005-07). Abbott threw an impressive 23 no-hitters and six perfect games during her career and led Tennessee to three consecutive Women's College World Series appearances (2005-07), with a runner-up finish in 2007.
"The experience here on Rocky Top definitely shaped and molded me. Coming in, I was very raw as an athlete but Coach Weekly – Ralph and Karen both – molded me into a hard-working athlete," Abbott said. "They taught me how to evolve as an athlete, to accept change and continue to grow, to be a student of the game I guess you could say. I have continued to do that through my career."
In just two collegiate seasons before turning professional, Gatlin registered 12 All-America performances and won six individual NCAA titles. As a freshman in 2001, his 100-meter time of 10.08 seconds at the NCAA Outdoor Championships matched a then-USA Junior record. The Brooklyn native was Tennessee's top point-scorer at both the 2001 NCAA Outdoor Championships and the 2002 NCAA Indoor Championships, both of which resulted in NCAA team titles for the Vols. Gatlin also captured seven individual SEC championships (two relay) during his two seasons on Rocky Top.
In the final individual race of Jamaican star Usain Bolt's illustrious career, Gatlin beat Bolt to capture the 100 meter title at the IAAF World Championships in August in 9.92 seconds.
The world stage in London served as somewhat of a passing of the torch to the next great American sprint star, with fellow Vol Christian Coleman earning the silver medal ahead of Bolt.
Gatlin and Coleman first met at the Rio Olympics in 2016 when Coleman was an alternate for the 4 x 100 relay team.
"I knew something was special about him because usually when you have someone who is an alternate they are just there for a vacation. But he kept working and kept going to workouts and training all the way through the Olympics like he was about to run," said Gatlin, a five-time Olympic medalist with one gold, two silvers and two bronzes. "So I saw the determination in him. I saw the hunger in him to be able to be better than what he was. From '16 to '17, you saw the growth that he had athletically. I think he is going to be a force to be reckoned with and I think he is going to be the next shining star for USA Track and Field."
Gatlin's career hasn't been free of controversy. He's been sidelined twice, including a four-year suspension in 2006. Gatlin issued a public apology at the World Championships, and hopes younger athletes can learn from his missteps.
"I guess the advice I would tell kids is adversity builds character. Success just magnifies who you are," Gatlin said. "So my time being an Olympic champion in 2004, that was me, my personality, who I was. And the time I had my lows, my four years away from my sport, I remained the same person. I still had that hunger and that drive and I still had a positive attitude in my life. When I came back to the sport, I remained that same person. I think that is what really helped me get to the top of my game."
Abbott visited the Tennessee softball team on Thursday during a practice at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. She provided tips to the pitchers and spoke to the group as a whole.
"I talked a lot about never giving up and to be willing to be the one. I talked to them about be the one that is willing to step up to raise their level," Abbott said. "If you can raise your level and be the only one to step up when your team needs you, then everyone else will step up too. But the hardest part is to be the first one."
Abbott became the first known female athlete to agree to a $1 million contract when she signed a six-year deal with the Houston Scrap Yard Dawgs in National Pro Fastpitch in 2016.
While weighing the pressure that comes with that status, Abbott thought back to the strong female mentors she had at Tennessee, which included Karen Weekly, Pat Summitt and Joan Cronan.
Abbott knew she had to embrace her distinction and step out of her comfort zone.
"If I didn't commit to play for the Scrap Yard Dawgs and sign the first $1 million contract as a female athlete, what legacy would I leave and what impact would I have had?" said Abbott, who led Houston to the Cowles Cup in August with 56 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched in the NPF tournament. "It was a chance to open the door for future generations and future female athletes in so many areas, not just softball."
Having played for the Weeklys at Tennessee prepared Abbott for the challenges of reaching her full potential.
"I think one of the reasons they are so effective is because they hold you so accountable," she said. "Every day when I went to practice they continued to challenge me and demand of me excellence. They never let me have a day off. They never let me cut corners, and that has continued to stay with me through my professional career. It has transferred over to my personal life off the field and transferred over to the academic side when I was at Tennessee."
Gatlin hasn't been back to Tennessee many times since he was a student. He's enjoyed touring the campus and seeing all the new amenities in preparation for the Hall of Fame induction.
As his professional career nears retirement, Gatlin plans to make Knoxville a more regular stop. He wants to build and even stronger bond with the track and field program and head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan to try and help other athletes begin dreaming about reaching the Hall of Fame like he once did.
"We both have the same goals we want for the track team, so me and her have talked about coming back more to be a mentor and help the kids about to segue out of college that have professional goals," Gatlin said. "I could be a beacon or a guide for them to watch out for pitfalls and know who to trust and not to trust and go from there. I want to stay as close as I can with the family here."
