University of Tennessee Athletics
Norfork to Attend Leadership Forum
October 21, 2010 | Baseball
Oct. 21, 2010
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - University of Tennessee student-athletes Khayyan Norfork (baseball) and Natalie Pluskota (women's tennis) have been selected to represent the university at the inaugural 2010 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum to be held Oct. 21-24 at Disney's Contemporary Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
This fall marks the first time Division I, II and III regionally-based leadership programming will take place at one site on the same weekend. The NCAA anticipates 400 student-athletes will attend.
During the four-day program, Norfork and Pluskota will take part in numerous leadership-related activities, including team-building exercises, NCAA and Divisional Governance sessions, service activities and more.
A senior from Ripley, Tenn., Norfork is in his second year at Tennessee after spending his first two collegiate seasons at Jackson State Community College. In his first year in Knoxville, he quickly earned a starting position as the team's second baseman. During the 2010 campaign, he hit .261 with three home runs and 25 RBIs, in addition to swiping 14 bases in just 17 attempts and committing just seven errors in 53 games.
"This is a terrific opportunity for Khayyan," UT head coach Todd Raleigh said. "Despite having just joined our program prior to last season, he is already one of the most active and vocal leaders on our team. I fully expect that he will be a valuable contributor to this conference and will benefit greatly from everything he will learn."
Pluskota, a junior from Newnan, Ga., has earned All-American status in each of her two seasons at Rocky Top. She and Caitlin Whoriskey finished the season as the No. 1-ranked doubles team in the nation last year, and in October of 2009, the two captured the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American doubles championship. A two-time Academic All-SEC selection, Pluskota is pursuing a degree in Sport Management.
"It's a great experience for her," Lady Vol tennis co-head coach Mike Patrick said. "She has a very dynamic, outgoing personality and she's already accomplished a lot of good things in her career. We're really happy that she gets the opportunity to go to this conference."
The leadership forum will engage a diverse and dynamic representation of student-athletes, coaches, faculty and administrators and provide pertinent and customized sessions that will enhance personal awareness and leadership skills needed to impact student-athlete development at the campus and conference level, and beyond the college realm.
