The USA South Athletic Conference presented former Covenant College women's soccer student-athlete Ruth Terry Vilches the Rita Wiggs Woman of the Year Award. USA South Commissioner Tom Hart was on the Covenant campus to present the award on Saturday. Covenant President Dr. J. Derek Halverson and Director of Athletics Tim Sceggel were also present to honor Terry Vilches.
Each year, every NCAA Athletic Conference nominates a female student-athlete for the NCAA Woman of the Year award which honors collegiate achievements in service, leadership, athletics and academics. Terry Vilches was the USA South's nominee, and thus its 2016 Woman of the Year. The USA South award is named after former Conference Commissioner Rita Wiggs. Wiggs, a tireless advocate of women's collegiate athletics as well a constant encourager of service to one's community, was the USA South's first full-time Commissioner serving the League for 16 years. In the spring of 2016 she was inducted into the USA South Hall of Fame.
Terry Vilches, a defender on the Scot women's soccer team, concluded her collegiate career last fall as a two-time All-Conference performer and a 2015 All-Region team honoree. Terry Vilches, a two-year team captain, started 58 of the 63 career matches she appeared in. She scored 15 goals with ten assists while helping the defense compile 24 shutouts.
In the classroom, Terry Vilches compiled a 3.65 grade point average while majoring in Community Development and International Studies. Terry Vilches was one of just two graduating seniors selected by her classmates to speak at Covenant's commencement. She was a three-time member of the USA South All-Academic Team and made the College's Dean's List seven times. Terry Vilches was one of thirteen members of the Covenant graduating class to receive a Maclellan Scholarship. She served on Covenant's student senate for two years and was selected as the Junior Class Vice President.
In the community, Terry Vilches gave many hours of her time in-support of others. She mentored and taught children life skills, both on and off the soccer field, for several organizations including the Chattanooga Sports Ministries, Camp Straight Street and on a team mission to Costa Rica. Additionally, Terry Vilches spent a summer in Clarkston, GA with the Friends of Refugees organization conducting field research on how to increase parental involvement in organizational programs while also serving as a bus driver, academic tutor and counselor.
Click here for video of the presentation.