IRVING, Tx. - Old Dominion women’s rowing senior Sydnee Blackburn has been named BIG 12 Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year, as announced by the conference on Thursday.
“The Scholar-Athlete award is in my opinion the highest honor in any athletics department. Sydnee earned this by being just true to who she is as a person,” said ODU Head Coach Brian Conley. “She demands excellence of herself in everything she does, the choices she makes are always consistent with her values which align with the team and our department, I’m proud to see her be acknowledged for it”.
Blackburn is the first Old Dominion athlete to win a yearly BIG 12 award. She was voted a team captain and was positioned at the three-seat on ODU’s 1V8+ during the BIG 12 Championship last week.
The senior out of Chesapeake, Virginia just completed her degree in nursing and had a cumulative GPA of a 3.9. She volunteers at a local hospital in her free time and will begin her career in a pediatric neonatal ICU.
BIG 12 Rowing Awards
Rower of the Year - Hannah Lovejoy, UCF
Newcomer of the Year - Lucy Buckingham, UCF
Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year - Laura Teska, Kansas
Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year - Sydnee Blackburn, ODU
Coach of the Year - Mara Allen, UCF