Highland Cavalier Club awards scholarships to UVa-Wise athletes

Two rising seniors at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise were recently recognized as outstanding athletes by the Highland Cavalier Club.

Richard Davidson, president of the Highland Cavalier Club, presented $1,000 scholarships to Lauren Snead of Troutville and Travis Brannon of Wise on April 27.

“We are very proud of both Lauren and Travis,” Davidson said.

The Highland Cavalier Club promotes and supports the College’s athletic programs. Members honor both a rising senior female and male athlete with the scholarship.

Coaches were asked to submit nominees. The Highland Cavalier Club’s Board of Directors received the coaches’ recommendations and made the final selections.

Snead is a pitcher for the Lady Cavs’ softball team. After recording her seventh victory in seven games this season, she earned the Appalachian Athletic Conference softball Pitcher of the Week award. Snead has posted a 15-7 record and has struck out 187 batters in 151 innings. She holds the school’s career strikeout record with 497.

“I was so surprised to receive this award,” Snead said. “I was not expecting it. This is very exciting for me.”

Brannon plays forward for the Highland Cavaliers’ basketball team and was named to the Academic All Appalachian Athletic Conference Team the past two years. He also serves as president of the Student Government Association. As head of the SGA, Brannon often represents the College at a variety of community events and currently serves on the Promotions Committee for the Town of Wise’s Downtown Revitalization efforts.

“This is definitely an honor,” Brannon said. “It is something you strive for when you are an athlete at UVa-Wise.”

The only branch campus of the University of Virginia, UVa-Wise is ranked among the nation’s top ten public liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report. UVa-Wise offers Virginia's only undergraduate degree in software engineering, among 28 other degrees and professional programs in the liberal arts tradition of Thomas Jefferson.

Posted June 15, 2009