Virginia Beach's Melissa Cheatwood Named SOVA May Athlete of the Month

Melissa Cheatwood has been named SOVA's Athlete of the Month for May 2004. The Virginia Beach athlete has been involved with Special Olympics Virginia for over 10 years, during which she has excelled in bowling and figure skating. Name: Melissa Cheatwood Area: 2 Hometown: Virginia Beach Number of Years in Special Olympics: 10 Sports Played: Unified Bowling, Bowling, Roller Skating, Ice Skating Current coaches: Coach Melissa Hanchon, Coach Angie and Coach Karen SOVA Accomplishments: After a short four years in ice skating Melissa recently passed to level 4!!!! As a youth bowler, Melissa held the highest bowling average for many years, while The Unified Bowling League Pro- Am Tournament three straight years. Te UBL is a tournament her parents organized with local PBA bowlers. Melissa's brother, Kyle, is a PBA bowler. Melissa highest Special Olympics bowling game has been a 279 with 7 strikes in a row!!!!! At the 2004 Winter Games Melissa placed first in the very difficult ice dance "The Rhythm and Blues". Melissa only practiced this dance for four weeks. She can do a forward and backward Chinese Arabesque and a forward and backward spirals. Other interests: Volleyball, basketball, dolphin watching, swimming, biking. Jobs: Volunteers at her local recreation center Current school or last school attended: Current senior at Ocean Lakes High Why you enjoy Special Olympics: Because it lets me compete with others that have disabilities. Favorite Food: Salads and Hawaiian pizza!!!!! Favorite Sports Team or Sports Person: Scott Hamilton and The Dallas Cowboys