August 28, 2025
Sammi Beatty Named Lake & Sumter Style Magazine Female Student-Athlete of the Week
By Kyle Coppola
Sammi Beatty Named Lake & Sumter Style Magazine Female Student-Athlete of the Week
Sammi Beatty didn’t just show up for the Lake-Sumter State College season opening tournament, she showed out.
In a fantastic start to the 2025 volleyball season, Sammi has been named Lake & Sumter Style Magazine’s Female Student-Athlete of the Week, following a standout performance that also earned her Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) Offensive Player of the Week honors for August 18–24.
(A graduate of Tavares High School, Sammi has been impressive to start her freshman year at Lake-Sumter State College.)
This marks a pair of firsts: Sammi’s first career FCSAA weekly award and the first Player of the Week honor under Head Coach Alisha Wintersdorf.
And it’s easy to see why. Sammi’s favorite quote is, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” This young lady is certainly living up to that.
Over the four-match stretch, Sammi racked up 68 kills and 62 digs, notching double-doubles in every contest. She averaged 4.53 kills per set and 4.13 digs per set, leading the entire conference in kills per set to cap off an unforgettable weekend. On top of that, she contributed five blocks, nine assists, and 14 aces, showcasing her all-around dominance on the court.
“Sammi is the kind of teammate everyone wants on their side,” says Coach Wintersdorf. “She was voted captain after preseason because of her leadership, work ethic, and ability to elevate the people around her. She’s already made an immediate impact, and we’re excited to see what she’ll accomplish this season.”
It’s rare to see a player burst onto the scene with such authority, but for Sammi, it’s not just about stats, it’s about setting the tone for the season, both as a leader and as a competitor.
She is coming off of a stellar career with Tavares High School and recently won a club national championship this spring. On top of that Sammi is a terrific student with a 4.3 GPA. We cannot wait to see what this young star builds upon the next few years.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
