Sarmiento Named CCA Region Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Tusculum Sports LogoFormer Tusculum College volleyball student-athlete Ashley Sarmiento has been selected as the Division II Collegiate Commissioners Association Southeast Region Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2013-2014.

The award highlights the extraordinary achievements, both on and off the field, of Division II student-athletes. A total of eight male and eight female student-athletes across the country earned regional distinction.

Sarmiento, a native of Dayton, Ohio, earned the South Atlantic Conference Presidents Award for a second consecutive year, marking the ninth time that a SAC student-athlete has garnered the league’s highest honor on two occasions.

Sarmiento graduated Magna Cum Laude this past May with a 3.92 cumulative grade point average in mathematics/ and math education. She was honored with the Tusculum College President’s Award, which is the college’s top student honor in addition to being named to the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll for a fourth consecutive year. The two-time SAC Volleyball Scholar Athlete of the Year is a member of the Alpha Chi Honor Society and made the Dean’s and President’s Lists during her entire career at Tusculum. She is also the recipient of the James E. and Virgie Hill Bacon ’32 Endowed Scholarship.

On the volleyball court, the setter and team captain guided Tusculum to a 21-11 overall record, a second-place finish in the league and her fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. Sarmiento ended her career second all-time in assists (3,849) at Tusculum and eighth in digs (1,154) and is the only player in school history to end her career with 3,000 assists and 1,000 digs.

The two-time Capital One Academic All-America® standout led the Pioneers to an 88-39 overall record during her four seasons at Tusculum.

An active member of the Greeneville community, Sarmiento has served with groups that include Nettie Day of Service, Ride for Life, St. Charles Church, Phoenix Rising volleyball camp, Greeneville Humane Society and “The Point” Christian group. On campus, she has had roles as an elementary school mentor, a leader with service learning classes, and as a member of the Pioneer Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s leadership team – including a term as president.

During her 2010 rookie campaign, she was named the SAC Freshman of the Year and the AVCA Southeast Region Freshman of the Year, while also garnering All-Conference and All-Region accolades. In 2012, she earned a spot on the NCAA II Southeast Region All-Tournament Team as the Pioneers upset top-seeded Armstrong Atlantic State University, while advancing to the regional title match and the NCAA Sweet 16.

Tusculum College, located in Greeneville, Tennessee, is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, USA and is a NCAA Division II member of the South Atlantic Conference. Tusculum, the oldest college in the State of Tennessee, sponsors 16 intercollegiate sports, including women’s lacrosse, which will be competing in its first season during the 2014-2015 academic year.

Tusculum, the 28th oldest college in the nation, is a liberal arts institution committed to providing a liberal arts education in a Judeo-Christian and civic arts environment, with pathways for career preparation, personal development and civic engagement. Approximately twenty-one hundred students are enrolled on the main campus in Greeneville and three off-site locations in East Tennessee. The academic programs for both traditional-aged students and working adults served through the Graduate and Professional Studies program are delivered using focused calendars whereby students enroll in one course at a time.