DANBURY, Conn. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference announced its equestrian awards for February today and the University of Tennessee at Martin claimed three honors. Kate Mills (fences) and Kate Davis (reining) each won Rider of the Month awards while Logan Putvinski was named Standout Student-Athlete of the Month.
The monthly honors come after the Skyhawks claimed seven weekly honors during the month of February. Included in the monthly selections were respective Riders of the Week honors for Kate Mills (fences, Feb. 25) and Kate Davis (reining, Feb. 11).
A sophomore from Charlotte, NC, Mills was a model of consistency in fences this past month as she claimed three of her four points in competition with standout performances against Minnesota-Crookston, Delaware State and No. 4 ranked SMU. Her lone setback was by a narrow margin against No. 1 ranked Auburn on the road. She was named ECAC Rider of the Month after posting back-to-back fences scores of 80 points – winning her fifth and sixth decisions of the season to tie for the team lead in that category.
Hailing from Williamston, Mich., Davis went undefeated in reining during the month of February for the Skyhawks. She was named ECAC Rider of the Month after boasting a perfect 2-0 mark on the opening weekend of the month. She posted a 70-point performance against Minnesota-Crookston before returning the next day to rack up 70.5 points to edge out her opponent against No. 1 ranked Auburn. She wrapped up the month with two more victories after posting a pair of 69-point rides against Delaware State and No. 4 SMU.
For the third time this season, a UT Martin athlete was tabbed as the ECAC Standout Student-Athlete of the Month. Putvinski, a Knoxville, Tenn. native, graduated in three and a half years with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and is currently pursuing an MBA in her final season for the Skyhawks. During the week, she works at a local accounting firm three days a week, practices four days a week and also serves as a barn manager for the team. Additionally, she has served as the program’s graphic designer for team apparel and improved branding initiatives while also winning the design contest for the NCEA Championship t-shirt two years in a row. In the arena, she has been a mainstay in the UT Martin reining lineup for the past four years, winning 30 points in reining with 49 starts. She earned NCEA All-American accolades in reining her sophomore year and is a two-time NCEA All Academic honoree earning a 4.0 GPA.
The Skyhawks wrap up the regular season this weekend when traveling to No. 7 ranked South Carolina on Saturday, March 8. Following the regular season finale, UT Martin will host the ECAC Championship in Martin on March 27-29.
