Senior Jessica Nance has been selected to represent the University of Kentucky on the 2005 Southeastern Conference Softball Good Works Team the league office has announced. The SEC sponsors Good Works Teams for all of its 20 league-sponsored sports, which highlights a student-athlete from each school who gives back to her community in superior service efforts.
Nance, a Human Nutrition major, has worked with numerous charitable organizations during her career at Kentucky. The Knoxville, Tenn., native is the softball team?s representative on the UK Student Athlete Outreach Committee. She has volunteered her time to such causes as the Susan G. Komen ?Race for the Cure? to support cancer research and the UK Children?s Hospital where she visited with patients. Nance has also been a mentor to elementary school students in the Lexington area and worked as a volunteer at the Kentucky Special Olympics.
Nance has been a huge part of the Wildcats? success during her career, and she has been a stalwart in the Wildcat lineup over the past four seasons. Nance has played in 229 of a possible 230 games during her career, missing just one contest during her freshman season in 2002. She started 228 games for the Cats and has made 173 consecutive starts in the Kentucky outfield. This season, Nance set new career-highs in runs, doubles, walks and batting average. She led the Wildcats in stolen bases the past four seasons and ranks third all-time at Kentucky with 64 career steals.
This season, Nance was inducted into the prestigious Frank G. Ham Society of Character, an organization within the Athletics Department which honors those who best exemplify the term ?student-athlete.? Selection into this organization is the highest honor UK?s athletics department bestows on its student-athletes. Beginning next month, Nance will play for the newly formed Harlem Diamonds professional softball team. The Diamonds will play nearly 60 games as fundraising events for community youth and social service organizations.
The 2005 SEC Softball Good Works Team
Jessica Nance, Kentucky
Jennifer Wright, Alabama
Mindy O?Malley, Arkansas
Anne Norton, Auburn
Lauren Roussell, Florida
Katie Lewis, Georgia
Kristen Hobbs, LSU
Mary Jane Callahan, Ole Miss
Callye Williams, Mississippi State
Megan Cornett, South Carolina
Brittany Bessho, Tennessee
