Holdbrooks, a Haleyville native, is one of the most honored athletes in UNA history. She lettered two years in volleyball (1989-90) and four years in softball (1990-93) at UNA.  As a senior she was one of just 11 players chosen for the first-team of GTE Academic All-American College Division softball team. She was then chosen as the Academic All-America of the Year for the College Division - which included 423 non-Division I NCAA schools and 232 NAIA schools - or more than 8,000 student-athletes.  mShe was the 1993 recipient of the Gulf South Conference Commissioner's Trophy as the top female student-athlete in the conference.

She received the Keller Key at UNA for posting the highest cumulative grade point average in her graduating class with a 3.98. Her perfect 4.0 GPA in her major field also earned an award for the highest GPA among the general biology majors. She received the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society award three consecutive years and was a six-time Academic All-Gulf South Conference pick - with four selections in softball and two in volleyball. She was also a GTE Academic All-District IV pick in 1993. 

Holdbrooks was selected as UNA's Female Athlete of the Year for 1993 and was the softball team's Most Valuable Player. She was also selected as UNA's NCAA Woman of the Year for 1993.  As a senior she hit .356 and was a first-team All-GSC pick at shortstop. She ranked among the GSC leaders in batting, base hits (32), runs scored (19) and stolen bases (14-14). She added 11 RBI, five doubles, one triple, seven walks and five sacrifices. She was selected GSC Player of the Week for March 24, 1993 and she received the team Golden Glove Award as a senior.