Gina Monaco, Trinity University, Softball - Character & Community

Gina Monaco, Trinity University, Softball - Character & Community

GINA MONACO OF TRINITY UNIVERSITY, a senior outfielder/second baseman on the women's softball team from Orlando, Fla., has been selected the SCAC Character & Community Female Student-Athlete of the Week for the week beginning February 22.

The SCAC Character & Community award honors the efforts of student-athletes who excel in the field of athletics, and also serve their campus and community.



Trinity University senior softball player Gina Monaco has been selected as the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Character & Community Women's Student-Athlete of the Week.

The award was created in 2009 to honor and recognize the efforts of the extraordinary student-athletes of the conference who not only excel athletically on the field, course, court, pool or track, but also by serving their campus and community.

This is the second time that Monaco has won the award, as she also brought home the honor in October 2019. She founded "Trinity Buddies" in order to mentor youth softball players from the San Antonio area, coaching them at skills camps and inviting them to Tiger softball games.

As the 2020-21 school year began under the cloud of a pandemic, Monaco sought out ways to expand the program to include other sports. As all 18 Trinity intercollegiate athletic teams were set to compete during the spring semester, she created a way to unite the teams with a fundraiser that also brought about a friendly competition.

The "Trinity Buddies United as One" fundraiser sprung from her role on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Strength Coach and SAAC advisor Daniel Martinez charged the group with participating in the NCAA and national SAAC campaign titled United as One, which was part of the continuing effort to promote stronger unity and inclusion.

The teams are all raising money for homeless kids and families in San Antonio's North East Independent School District, with each team competing to see which group can raise the most money for the cause. The fundraiser will continue throughout the spring semester and has an overall donation goal of $11,000.

In addition to her work with Trinity Buddies and the current fundraiser, Monaco has remained active with several other community service endeavors. She has been a part of LoneStar PlayBall for the last four years, assisting special needs adults who are playing softball. She has been a Chapter Leader of the Wish for our Heroes charity for the past six years, aiding and supporting the San Antonio military community.

In addition to being a part of SAAC, Monaco has continued her role as a Student Leader in Trinity's Fellowship of Christian Athletes. This year, she also joined the Intercollegiate Athletic Council in order to represent student-athletes in bridging those relationships with faculty.

In addition to making the Dean's List for two semesters, Monaco is a three-time member of the SCAC Honor Roll and earned a spot on the SCAC All-Sportsmanship Team in 2018. She was the 2020 Thurman Adkins "Unsung Hero" Student Leadership & Service award-winner and was a guest panelist speaker for the 2020 National Girls & Women in Sports Day in 2020 as well. Earlier this week, Monaco added another honor to her extensive list with the Outstanding Senior in Sports Management award.

Monaco hit .459 in the last full season for the Trinity softball team (2019) and also started nine of the 13 games the Tigers played in the shortened 2020 campaign. The team is 3-1 heading into the weekend and will face off against Our Lady of the Lake (TX) University in San Antonio on February 28. Trinity returns home to open up SCAC play with four games against defending champion Texas Lutheran on March 5-6.

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