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Department of Plant Sciences Turfgrass Science and Management Students Steal the Show at the National Sports Turf Managers Association’s Annual Conference and Exhibition

From January 17th through January 20th, San Antonio, Texas was the host city for the 2007 Annual Conference and Exhibition of the Sports Turf Managers Association. At the conference the sound of “UT” was a common occurrence, and being in Texas it was especially surprising that the UT being referred to was the University of Tennessee and not Texas. Several educational workshops were conducted by Dr. John Sorochan and Dr. Tom Samples, University of Tennessee Turfgrass Science and Management Professors in the Department of Plant Sciences, but it was the accomplishments of the University of Tennessee students in attendance the were the buzz of the show. Adam Thoms, Turfgrass Science and Management graduate student in the Department of Plant Sciences won the Dr. Jim Watson Outstanding Graduate Student Scholarship, and Will Jellicorse, undergraduate student in the Department of Plant Sciences won the Dr. Jim Watson Outstanding Undergraduate Student Scholarship. In addition to the two first place scholarships, Tyler Mittlesteadt, undergraduate student in the Department of Plant Sciences was one of three winners for the SAFE Undergraduate Student Scholarship.

If that was not enough the University of Tennessee undergraduate team of Stuart Morris, Lucas Freshour, Tyler Mittlesteadt, and Will Jellicorse took home the first place trophy in the Student Challenge - Undergraduate Competition with Iowa State University finishing second, and Penn State University finishing third, respectively. The Student Challenge was a two hour exam that consisted of turfgrass, insect, weed, and disease identification, sports turf and budgeting related case studies, pesticides application and calibration, irrigation and sports turf playability questions. There were a total of 29 teams entered in the Student Challenge from various universities from around the country. By winning the Student Challenge the University of Tennessee four - person team will forever be recognized by having their university and individual names engraved on the trophy. They also received first place medals, a trophy to bring back to the university, and finally $4,000 for the University of Tennessee Turfgrass Club. Needless to say, there were several very proud moments at the Annual Awards Banquet, with more than 1000 people in attendance from the sports turf industry and academia arenas, getting to hear the University of Tennessee students called up to the stage to receive their awards.