Kentucky women?s golf senior Eva Gessner was recently honored for her hard work on the golf course and in the community by receiving the Southeastern Conference Post-Graduate Scholarship and being named to the first-ever SEC Good Works Golf Team.

Gessner, a native of Alzenau, Germany, has been a leader for UK during her entire four-year career. The current captain of the squad, Gessner steadily lowered her stroke average from an 85.67 as a freshman to 78.32 as a senior. She also registered four top-20 finishes in 2004, led by a third-place performance at the Big River Telephone Classic.

Gessner has also been a success in the classroom, as she was named to the dean?s list for seven consecutive semesters, the SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll in 2003, and was as All-SEC Academic selection as a sophomore. Gessner graduated magna cum laude last May with a double degree in Economics and Mathematics, and currently holds a 3.5 GPA in the MBA program at UK.

?I am very proud of Eva,? UK Coach Stephanie Martin-Barker said. ?She is an outstanding student-athlete and a wonderful representative of our university. I am very excited that the SEC is recognizing Eva for all of her athletic and academic accomplishments.?

Some of Gessner?s most notable achievements as a student-athlete at UK have come in the community of Lexington. The senior was inducted into the Frank G. Ham Society of Character this past year, and, as Chairperson for the UK Student Athlete Outreach Committee, she has done countless hours of community service in and around central Kentucky. She is currently a volunteer for the Boys & Girls Club, the HOPE homeless center, Relay for Life, the UK Children’s Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House. Gessner is also a member of Cats Cultivating Character and has also volunteered reading to middle school children, mentoring at Leestown Middle School and working an elementary school fall festival.