Defatta, Tomassoni named Applebee's Student-Athletes of the Month for September

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum University football placekicker Joe Defatta and golfer Katie Tomassoni have been named the Applebee's Student-Athletes of the Month for September.

Defatta, a senior from Franklin, Tennessee, leads the TU football team in scoring with his 31 points. He has connected on all 13 of his extra point attempts and is 6-of-8 in field goals with a long of 40 yards.  He has been named the AstroTurf South Atlantic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on two occasions and currently leads the league in field goals per game averaging 2.0 per contest which is ninth in the country.

In Tusculum's 61-14 road win at Shorter University, Defatta scored 11 points going 8-for-8 on extra points and also kicked a 28-yard field goal.  His 11 kicking points are ranked 10^th in a TU single-game. He surpassed that with his 13-point effort in a 37-10 win over Limestone College in the league opener.  He made three fields covering 26, 31 and 27 yards and was perfect (4-for-4) on extra points.  The 13 points are fourth in the TU record book.

Tomassoni, a senior from Mason, Ohio, repeated as medalist at the Bob Dibble Classic and finished runner-up at the Mars Hill Fall Invitational.  She led the Pioneers to team titles in both of those tournaments while posting a stroke average of 73.67. 

In the Dibble Classic, Tomassoni sank a four-foot putt for par to win on the first playoff hole to capture her second TU Fall Classic title and third medal of her collegiate career.  She posted a two-day score of 71-75=146 as Tusculum won the Dibble Classic for a fourth consecutive year.  Tomassoni opened the MHU Invitational with a 75 and was one shot of the lead.  The final round was rained out as Tusculum won the team title and Tomassoni finished in a five-way tie for second.

The Tusculum Student-Athlete of the Month Award is sponsored by Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar of Greeneville.  The Applebee's Student-Athlete of the Month Award honors one male and one female student-athlete each month from an in-season sport during the 2018-2019 academic year, recognizing their hard work, effort and performance.

2018-2019 Applebee's Student-Athletes of the Month