The Southern Tennis Foundation (STF) announced the establishment of the Mildred F. Southern Academic Excellence Awards for two of the foundation’s annual college scholarships.
The foundation awards 10 annual scholarships of $1,000 to incoming college freshmen. The STF’s scholarship committee determined which two recipients will be awarded the academic excellence awards.
The following two high school seniors have been awarded the inaugural awards:
NAME; CITY, STATE; HIGH SCHOOL; COLLEGE (FIRST CHOICE)
- Anastasia Newsome; Elizabethtown, Ky.; Elizabethtown High School; University of Louisville
- Takuma Walter; Memphis, Tenn.; White Station High School; Washington University of St. Louis
Mildred F. Southern passed away last October in Winston-Salem, N.C. Debbie Southern, Mildred’s daughter, announced that Mildred’s will had earmarked the funding of the awards. Debbie Southern serves on the USTA Southern Junior Competition Committee.
“Our mom was passionate about growing the game of tennis and for every child to learn to play regardless of their race, religion, or economic background. She volunteered countless hours to develop programs where kids could learn to play for free. Mom would have been proud and honored to have her name on the STF’s Academic Excellence Awards to help young folks continue their passion for tennis in college. Our family is thrilled to support the Southern Tennis Foundation in honor of our mother, Mildred F. Southern.”
Southern Tennis Foundation Chairman Paula Hale remarked, “Mildred was a tennis legend in the USTA Southern Section and all of USTA, both as a player and volunteer. It’s wonderful to honor her legacy by naming these scholarships for her.”
Mildred F. Southern led the foundation as chair along with USTA Southern and USTA North Carolina as president. She was inducted into the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991, the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame in 1983 and the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. She won five USTA championships as an adult recreational player.
Mildred was a long-time benefactor of North Carolina and Southern tennis. Her contributions helped build the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame and funded the Southern Cup, an annual competition of the top adult players in the South. Click here for more information about Mildred F. Southern.
Other scholarship recipients are: NAME; CITY, STATE; HIGH SCHOOL; COLLEGE (FIRST CHOICE):
- Sherry Aschenbach; Columbus, Ga.; Hardaway High School; Berry College
- Benjamin Koch; Abbeville, La.; Etowah High School; LSU
- Myesha Nealon; Greenville, Miss.; Greenville High School; Hinds Community College
- Nyesha Nealon; Greenville, Miss.; Greenville High School; Hinds Community College
- Trinity Oliver; Cary, N.C.; Crossroads Flex High School; North Carolina A&T
- James Qu; Greer, S.C.; Riverside High School; University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
- Anna Thomas, Reidsville, N.C.; Reidsville High School; University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
- Cherisse Trapp, Columbia, S.C.; Fairfield Central High; University of South Carolina
For extensive information and photos of the 10 recipients, click here.