Perez-Somarriba Tabbed a Honda Sports Award Finalist
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The accolades continue to pour in for 2019 NCAA singles champion Estela Perez-Somarriba of the University of Miami women’s tennis team.
The junior from Madrid is one of four finalists for the prestigious Honda Sport Award for Tennis, as announced Friday afternoon.
The Honda Sports Award acknowledges athletic achievement as well as scholastics and community involvement, and is given to female athletes in 12 different NCAA-sanctioned sports throughout the year. Each Honda Sports Award winner is recognized as the top collegiate female athlete in her sport and the award is considered by many as one of the highest honors a female college athlete can receive in the nation.
The Top Three finalists for Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year are chosen from among the 12 Honda Sports Award winners. These three finalists for the program’s top honor exemplify the very best attributes of all Honda Sports Award winners, including excellence and leadership in their sport, as well as outstanding academic achievement and community involvement.
The CWSA’s highest honor, the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year is chosen by the CWSA Board of Directors from the Top Three and is presented with the Honda Cup live on CBS Sports Network June 24 at 9 p.m. This cup has been bestowed in the past on athletes such as Mia Hamm, Cheryl Miller, Tara Kirk, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Misty May and Candace Parker.
This is the eighth time a Hurricane is a finalist for the distinction and Perez-Somarriba is the sixth Hurricane to make the cut. She joins Lise Gregory (1985-86), Ronni Reis (1987-88), Megan Bradley (2003-04), Audra Cohen (2005-06, 2006-07) and current Miami associate head coach Laura Vallverdu (2008-09, 2009-10). Cohen won the award in 2006-07 and Vallverdu did so in 2009-10.
Perez-Somarriba went 43-5 this season, leading the nation in victories and tallying the second-most by a Hurricane in a singles campaign. She won ACC Player of the Year for the second straight season, en route to the second NCAA Singles Championship crown in program history.
Joining Perez-Somarriba on the list of finalists for the award are Michigan’s Kate Fahey, Georgia’s Katarina Jokic and South Carolina’s Ingrid Gamarra Martins. The full release is available HERE.
To keep up with the University of Miami women’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
