VIDEO: Meridith Hawkins Interview 

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman junior golfer Meridith Hawkins (Powell, Tenn.) was chosen as the South Atlantic Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year, the league announced Monday morning.

Hawkins's award is the second such award in the program's history as she follows in the footsteps of Melanie Manis who was awarded the honor in 2012.

"This was a thing that when I came into my freshman year, it was a goal of mine," Hawkins said immediately after finishing two finals. "To have accomplished it, it's huge to me. I want to succeed both on the golf course and in the class room, so this is a big deal to me."

On the course this season, Hawkins played in all 24 of the Eagles' rounds and averaged 80.2 strokes per round and was named Honorable Mention All-SAC. Her best finish of the season was a seventh-place showing at the Etowah Intercollegiate. She also finished tied for 13^th three times with showings at the Tusculum/Kiawah Island Intercollegiate, Agnes McAmis Memorial and the SAC Championships. As a sophomore, Hawkins was co-SAC Player of the Year and first team All-SAC.

"Meridith's dedication to what she does as a student-athlete is an outstanding role model for everyone on the team," Carson-Newman head women's golf coach Suzanne Strudwick said. "It proves that a pre-med major can be Scholar Athlete of the Year and a huge contributor to the team, and I can't ask for anything more as a coach."

Hawkins was also an integral part of Carson-Newman's final round rally to win the SAC Championships as she tied her low round of the season with a score of 76.

In the classroom, Hawkins holds a 3.96 GPA as a Biology – Pre Med major. She is a member of the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society, which is an honor society that recognizes the top-10 percent of her class. Hawkins has been an Eagle Scholar the last two years and she receives the Carson-Newman Dean Scholarship that recognizes students who have demonstrated exemplary academic achievement, leadership and holds a GPA that is 3.85 or higher.

Hawkins has also dedicated time giving back to the community. She has worked with Operation In-As-Much and Operation Christmas Child. As a member of Alpha Chi, Hawkins and the honor society hosted a book fair on Carson-Newman's campus and all the proceeds were donated to the Samaritan House. As a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Hawkins participated in Make-A-Wish.