May 3, 2000
LAS VEGAS -
The UNLV Women's Sports Foundation hosted its annual awards banquet for female student-athletes Tuesday. Athletes from each sport were honored for their hard work and dedication in and out of athletics. Rookie of the Year, Coaches Award, and Most Valuable Player awards were presented by the member's respective head coaches.
The evening was capped by the announcement of the nominees for the UNLV Female Athlete of the Year. Sophomore Lorena Diaconescu, Senior Katarina Malec, and Junior Linda Fr?hlich each excelled at the collegiate level and received MVP accolades in their respective sports. The winner of the award will not be announced until the end of the school year.
Junior forward Linda Fr?hlich led the Rebels in scoring, rebounding, and steals this season and was a three-time MWC Player of the Week. She was a first team All-MWC member and was honored as the conference's Player of the Year. Fr?hlich was All-America for two separate agencies and was the 1998-99 National Freshman of the Year.
Women's tennis No. 1 player, Katarina Malec has a current national ranking of No. 28 in singles and No. 28 in doubles. She dominated the league with a 35-5 overall record and earned the conference's Player of the Year award. The All-MWC member in both singles and doubles has not lost a single set since February 25th.
Freestyle specialist Lorena Diaconescu led her swim team to an 8-2 record this season. She was named MWC Swimmer of the Year and became the first female to earn All-America status in three events (100, 200, and 500-free) during a single NCAA Championship. The freestyler broke three UNLV individual school records and was a member of two relay teams that downed two more. The 1996 Olympian will compete in the 2000 Sydney Olympics for her native country of Romania.
OTHER AWARD WINNERS
Basketball
Rookie - Constance Jinks
Coaches - Dayna Gambill and Erin Johannson
MVP - Linda Fr?hlich
Swimming
Rookie - Whitney Phelps
Coaches - Carrie Knopp
MVP - Lorena Diaconescu
Cross Country
Rookie - Jenni Nelson
Coaches - Katie Barto
MVP - Stephanie Davidson
Tennis
Rookie - Amela Hadziosmanovic
Coaches - Veronica Goude
MVP - Katarina Malec
Soccer
Rookie - Cristyn Enea
Coaches - Marni Polakow
MVP - Anita Pedford
Volleyball
Rookie - Leiana Oswald
Coaches - Angie Sylvas
MVP - Christel Eves
Softball
Rookie - Celeste Alvarado
Coaches - Debbie Hatch
MVP - Nicole Miller
Rodeo
Rookie - Dani Jean Duncan
Coaches - Jamie and Katie Marvel
MVP - Nora Hunt
Track - will give upon completion of season (end of May)
