Virginia Tech holds 2022 Athletic Director’s Honors Celebration

BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech's athletics department hosted the Athletic Director's Honors Celebration on Monday, March 21. The annual event was held at The Inn at Virginia Tech and resumed to being in-person for the first time since 2019, due to COVID-19.
 
Evan Hughes served as the emcee for the celebration, while Tech Director of Athletics, Whit Babcock, delivered the welcome address.
 
Student-athletes from all 22 sports, athletic training students, student managers and HokieVision students were all recognized for their work in the classroom during the 2021 calendar year.
 
The following awards were presented throughout the night:
 
2021 All-Academic Team

• Top student-athlete academically in his/her sport during the 2021 calendar year.
• Dr. Rachel Holloway and Sarah Armstrong presented these awards.

 
2021 Scholar-Athletes

• Students who earned a 4.0 GPA during the 2021 calendar year.
• Dr. Rachel Holloway and Sarah Armstrong presented these awards.

 
2021-22 ACC Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year

• Each year the ACC sponsors a scholar-athlete of the year award for each institution to recognize one male and one female student-athlete. Each university establishes its own selection criteria, and Virginia Tech has chosen to honor seniors who have distinguished themselves in the classroom, as leaders in the community, and in their athletic pursuits.
• Virginia Tech's Faculty Athletics Representative, Dr. Jennifer Irish, presented these awards.

 
2022 Skelton Award for Academic Excellence in Athletics

• The Skelton Award is named after Dr. Bill and Peggy Skelton. The late Dr. Skelton served in the Corps of Cadets and graduated from Virginia Tech in 1940. He later worked as a dean of the Virginia Cooperative Extension division at Tech. The late Peggy Skelton was a faculty member and director of the Cooperative Extension Family Resource Program in the College of Home Economics at Virginia Tech. Both were charter members of the Ut Prosim Society and its President's Circle and combined for more than 100 years of support to the university in various capacities.
• The award goes each year to a rising junior, senior or fifth-year male and female student-athlete who has participated in intercollegiate athletics for at least two seasons at Tech and who holds an overall grade-point average of 3.40 or better. Each recipient receives a scholarship of $5,000.
• David Everett, Senior Associate Athletics Director, Senior Director of Major Gifts, presented these awards.

 
Virginia Tech Athletics would like to thank the following campus guests for attending:

• Dr. Jennifer Irish – Faculty Athletics Representative and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Dr. Rachel Holloway – Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs
• Dr. Byron Hughes – Dean of Students
• Rick Sparks – Associate Vice Provost and University Registrar
• Susan Short – Chair of the University Athletics Committee and Associate Vice President for Engagement
• Kevin Carlson – Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs
• Robin Queen –Director for the Kevin P. Granata Biomechanics Lab Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics

 
Below is a list of the award winners from the AD's Honors Celebration, including bios of the Scholar-Athletes of the Year and the Skelton Award recipients.
 
Virginia Tech ACC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Emily Gray

• Midfielder and co-captain on the women's soccer team.
• Sewell, New Jersey native.
• Graduated in December 2021 with a degree in Sports Media and Analytics, and a minor in Business Leadership.  
• Made program history by becoming Tech's highest National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) draft pick at No. 3 overall by the North Carolina Courage.
• Started in each of her 69 career appearances at Tech, guiding the program to three NCAA tournament berths (2018, 2019, 2021).
• Tallied 27 career goals (tied for fourth at Tech) and 24 career assists (second at Tech).

 
Virginia Tech ACC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Brock Hoffman

• Offensive lineman and co-captain on the football team.
• Statesville, North Carolina native.
• Graduated in December 2021 with a degree in Communication Science and Social Inquiry.
• 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl Invitee.
• 2021 All-ACC Honorable Mention.
• In 2021, he was as a recipient of the Wells Fargo Advisors Humanitarian of the Year Award, becoming the first Tech athlete to receive this accolade, which annually recognizes a football player from a program in the Commonwealth of Virginia who has gone above and beyond to make a positive impact on campus and in his community.  
• Hoffman was also a semifinalist for the Wuerffel Trophy for community service and Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year semifinalist for leadership.

 
Skelton Award for Academic Excellence in Athletics
Hannah Ballowe

• Junior member of the cross country and track and field teams.
• Mechanicsville, Virginia native. 
• Pursuing a degree in English (pre-law concentration) and Professional and Technical Writing, with minors in Science, Technology, and Law.
• Dean's List, ACC Academic Honor Roll, and USTFCCAA All-Academic Team honoree.  
• During the 2022 indoor season, Ballowe earned Second-Team All-America honors at the NCAA Championships as part of the DMR team that ran 11:08.43 to finish 10th. 
• Ballowe also ran the 800-meter leg of the gold medal-winning DMR team that set a new Rector Field House and meet record with their time of 10:53.75 at the 2022 Indoor ACC Championships. 
• Member of the Virginia Tech Student-Athlete Advisory Committee since 2019 and serves as the Executive Editor for The Oval Magazine, a startup website for runners, founded by runners, that shares authentic stories about the sport.

 
Matthew Siverling

• Third-year sophomore pitcher on the baseball team.
• Matthews, North Carolina native.
• Earned Dean's List and Athletic Director's Honor Roll honors every semester at Virginia Tech while pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Biomedical Engineering. 
• Siverling has incorporated his experience as a baseball student-athlete into his academic experience. Last year, Siverling participated in an independent biomechanics research study where he explored the impact of hip-shoulder separation on baseball pitching performance.
• On the field, he has been a consistent contributor to his team. In 2020, he had a 4.15 ERA in 8.2 innings pitched, and tied for the most among bullpen pitchers. In 2021, he combined to record nine strikeouts across six scoreless relief innings during a three-game series at Pitt. He also logged the second most innings by a Tech pitcher who threw exclusively from the bullpen (29.1).
• Siverling is a member of Next Level Leadership, organized through Student-Athlete Development, and is a student leader with Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Gallery: (3-23-2022) 2022 Virginia Tech AD Honors Celebration