Audra Cohen Voted Top Collegiate Female Tennis Player and Will Receive Honda Sports Award
June 8, 2007
Coral Gables, Fla. – Audra Cohen, a University of Miami junior and three-time Honda Sports Award nominee, has been chosen as the nation’s top collegiate female tennis player for 2007. The honor was based on the results of national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program, now in its 31st year.
Cohen’s victory will earn her the Honda Sports Award, given annually to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports, along with automatic nomination for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. She was voted over three other nominees: Megan Falcon, a sophomore at the Louisiana State University; Lindsey Nelson, a junior at the University of Southern California and 2004 Honda Sports Award winner, Zuzana Zemenova, a junior at Baylor University. The candidates were selected by a combination of their finish at the NCAA Championships and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings.
“The Honda Sports Award is one of the most prestigious awards that a female college athlete can win,” said Cohen. “I’m especially proud to have won it while attending the University of Miami, as it’s the first time an athlete from the school has won and I hope it becomes a new tradition. It’s also quite an honor for me to be in the company of former Honda Award winners Jill Craybas and Lilia Osterloh, who are successful on the pro-tour.”
A native of Plantation, FL, Cohen made history this year when she became the first woman from the University of Miami to take the NCAA singles title. She had been the top-ranked collegiate women’s player all season. After her NCAA championship win, she formally announced her intention to turn pro immediately. Her overall singles record of 42-2 for 2006-07, which included a 28-game winning streak, is the second best women’s single season record in school history. In the fall of 2006, Cohen became Miami’s second National Indoor Champion. Cohen is a repeat Atlantic Coast Conference Player of Year with 11 straight conference wins in 2007, and a five-time All-American. Cohen was also recently named a member of the All-NCAA Tournament Team for the second time in her career.
Audra began her college career at Northwestern University, with 23 straight singles wins in her freshman year. She became the first Northwestern player to win the ITA National Singles Title, followed by her win at the ITA Midwest Championships. She was one of 12 college players to be named to the 2006 USTA Summer Collegiate Team, and she has played in four USTA Circuit events, reaching the semifinals or better in three.
With her NCAA championship, Cohen is expected to earn a wild-card entry into this year’s U.S. Open. She previously played in the women’s doubles draw in the 2004 U.S. Open. Her current ranking on the Sony Ericsson WTA tour is 519 in singles and 923 in doubles.
Previously announced Honda Sports Award recipients include Duke University’s Amanda Blumenherst for golf; Northwestern University’s 3-time Honda Sports Award winner, Kristen Kjellman for lacrosse; the University of Georgia’s Courtney Kupets for gymnastics; the University of Tennessee’s Candace Parker for basketball; the University of Georgia’s Kara Lynn Joyce for swimming; the University of Nebraska’s Sarah Pavan for volleyball; the University of North Carolina’s Heather O’Reilly for soccer; the University of Maryland’s Paula Infante for field hockey and Texas Tech’s Sally Kipyego for cross-country. Honda Sports Award winners in softball and track & field will be announced shortly. The Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year will be determined by separate balloting involving all NCAA-member institutions and the winner will receive the Honda-Broderick Cup at Columbia University in New York on June 25th 2007.
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. sponsors the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program.
