DALLAS – Conference USA announced the winners of its 2021 Spring Spirit of Service Award on Tuesday. The award honors one student-athlete from each of the league's 14 members with significant community service endeavors, excellent academic standing and notable athletic achievements.
 
The Spirit of Service Award is presented three times throughout the season (fall, winter and spring) with the 2021 spring honorees representing the following sports: baseball, women's rowing, men's and women's golf, softball, men's and women's outdoor track, and men's and women's tennis. Men's and women's soccer and volleyball student-athletes were also eligible due to fall competition moved to the spring semester as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
2021 C-USA Spring Spirit of Service Award Recipients
Todd Elwood, Charlotte, Baseball
Kamila Umarova, FIU, Women's Tennis
Natalia Boltinskaya, Florida Atlantic, Women's Tennis
Lindsay Edwards, Louisiana Tech, Softball
Torren Kalaskey, Marshall, Women's Golf            
Summer Burgess, Middle Tennessee, Softball   
Hope Trautwein, North Texas, Softball  
Holly Hutchinson, Old Dominion, Women's Tennis           
Michelle Fokam, Rice, Women's Track and Field
Hannah Borden, Southern Miss, Softball              
Laci Turner, UAB, Women's Track and Field         
Emily Parrott, UTEP, Women's Soccer    
Madison Nelson, UTSA, Softball               
Ansley Cate, WKU, Women's Soccer      
 
Charlotte baseball senior Todd Elwood collected the most community service hours of any male 49er for the 2020-21 academic year, bringing his total to 267 compiled throughout his career. The five-time Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient penned a 3.450 GPA as a biology major, and also earned the team's 2021 Gold Standard honor, given to a player that embodies hard work and the standards of Charlotte baseball.
 
FIU tennis junior Kamila Umarova earned her career's second C-USA Spring Spirit of Service Award. While compiling a 3.88 GPA as an accounting major, the Tashkent, Uzbekistan, native volunteered her free time teaching tennis and reading to local youth groups in Miami. Umarova was named a First-Team All-Conference USA selection for singles and doubles competition, helping lead the Panthers to an at-large NCAA bid in May.
 
At the conclusion of the 2020-21 academic year, Florida Atlantic tennis senior Natalia Boltinskaya was bestowed the program's Female Community Service and Female OWLstanding Spirit awards. The Moscow, Russia, product was heavily involved in offering virtual tennis training to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders through the Love Serving Autism organization. The senior leader inked a 3.270 GPA in her hospitality and tourism management studies and guided the Owls to the program's highest national rank at No. 52 this season.
 
Louisiana Tech was represented by softball junior Lindsay Edwards, a kinesiology and health sciences student with a 3.87 GPA and mentions on the school's President's List seven times. Edwards appeared in 20 games with 14 starts throughout the 2021 season while serving as the SAAC Secretary and Treasurer. The infielder volunteered her time at various service events, including the Load up for Lake Charles, Voter Registration Drive and First Year Experience (FYE) Classes.
 
Marshall junior golfer Torren Kalaskey served as the program's 2020-21 SAAC president and a member of the C-USA SAAC Health & Safety Working group amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to organizing monthly meetings, trainings and service projects, Kalaskey maintained a 3.84 GPA in her biological science studies with a cell, molecular and medical concentration. She also managed three minors in chemistry, creative writing and psychology. The junior out of Charleston, West Virginia, competed in all five spring events for the Thundering Herd and recorded her season-best round (74) at the C-USA Championship.
 
Middle Tennessee softball graduate Summer Burgess polished off her career with a perfect 4.0 GPA as a student in the public health master's program. The Blue Raiders' all-time leader in seven statistical categories, including games started, games played, hits and assists, was tabbed to the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll five times. A 2021 all-conference first-team selection, Burgess also devoted her time to assist with COVID-19 testing and vaccinations in the University's Health Center.
 
North Texas senior hurler Hope Trautwein added to her slew of accolades accumulated throughout the 2020-21 season. The C-USA Pitcher of the Year, All-C-USA First-Team nod and four-time Pitcher of the Week was an active leader in North Texas' SAAC, helping execute a student-athlete voter education session and a student-athlete unity pledge to further the program's social justice initiatives. She earned a 4.0 GPA in her first semester on the MBA track, and made national noise when she tossed the first all-strikeout perfect game in NCAA Division I history in April.

A two-time C-USA Spring Spirit of Service recipient, Old Dominion tennis senior Holly Hutchinson this semester served as senator of the program's Student-Life Committee, co-chair of the SAAC Life Skills and Diversity Committee and a member of the athletic department's Racial Equity Task Force. Hutchinson touted a 3.95 GPA as a lifespan and digital communication media studies master's student. On the court, the England native was awarded Outstanding Singles Player of the C-USA Championship and garnered all-conference honors in singles and doubles play.
 
Rice track and field senior Michelle Fokam was recognized for her outstanding service and accomplishments just days after earning First-Team All-American accolades and a bronze medal at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. In addition to qualifying for the US Olympic Trials this semester, Fokam was a consistent participant at Houston Food Bank, Bread of Life Houston, Maint Street Ministries, and The Forge for Families. The two-time Spirit of Service winner served as the Presidential Intern for Rice Student Affairs and notched a 3.06 GPA as a Post baccalaureate psychology major.
 
Southern Miss sophomore catcher Hannah Borden managed an unblemished 4.0 GPA as a business major with a minor in Spanish this season. The Alabama product and C-USA All-Academic selection started 52 of 53 games and led the Golden Eagles with nine home runs and caught 13 runners stealing behind the plate. Borden volunteered her time with Toys for Tots, Southern Pines Animal Shelter, Special Olympics, TGSA recreation softball league and more.

UAB track and field senior Laci Turner has posted a 4.0 GPA in each of her three years as a biomedical sciences student, and has since recorded more than 80 hours of community service with participation in service events like Smile-A-Mile Volunteer, MLK Day of Service, Bundles of Hope and Hurricane Sally Sock Drive. The Honors College student-athlete placed 12^th in the C-USA Outdoor Championships heptathlon, marking personal-bests in points (4099) and meters in the long jump event (5.15).

One of two women's soccer representatives, UTEP sophomore Emily Parrott is a two-time C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal recipient and averaged a 3.90 GPA as an international business major this semester. The goalkeeper started 10 of 11 matches in 2021, making at least four saves in eight contests. While involved in community service endeavors, Parrott wrote letters to children in the local hospital and Cards of Hope to families through the North Texas Food Bank.

UTSA senior pitcher Madison Nelson posted a 3.46 GPA as a health major and has received C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll recognition three times throughout her career. Her extensive list of service events and organizations she has dedicate time to include UTSA Move-In, Kinetic Kids, Haven for Hope, Miracle League, Dunn Lab at MD Anderson, the local animal shelter and UTSA CANtoberfest.
 
Rounding out this semester's Spirit of Service winners is WKU soccer sophomore Ansley Cate. The Tennessee native volunteered at House on the Hill, a local organization that provides food for in-need families, and also participated in United Soccer Coaches' Soccer Against Hunger initiative, which raised money and distributed food donations to food banks around the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 All-Academic Second-Team nod started and played in all but one match for WKU this season with two goals recorded.