May 6, 2003
LAS VEGAS -
The UNLV Women's Sports Foundation hosted its annual awards banquet for female student-athletes Monday at the Cox Pavilion where student-athletes from each sport were honored for their hard work and dedication in and out of athletics.
Rookie of the Year, Coach's and Most Valuable Player awards were presented by each sport's head coach and the nominees for the UNLV Sportswoman of the Year award were announced.
Basketball's Constance Jinks, swimming and diving's Raluca Udroiu and track & field and cross country's Jessica Zarndt are the nominees for this year's Sportswoman of the Year award, which will be announced following the completion of all spring sports.
Jinks, a senior guard, was drafted in the third round of the WNBA draft by the Houston Comets after a stellar college career that concluded this past season. Jinks is the third-leading all-time scorer in UNLV women's basketball history and ninth all-time in assists. She was named honorable mention for Kodak All-America honors and was a first-team All-Mountain West Conference performer this past season. She led the MWC in scoring at 20.2 ppg this past year and earned all-conference honors three of her four years at UNLV.
Udroiu, a sophomore and this year's MWC Swimmer of the Year, placed 24th in the 200 backstroke at the NCAA Championships in March. She also swam the 100 backstroke at the NCAA's, finishing 32nd. She holds the UNLV and MWC record in both the 200 and 100 backstroke and was a first-team All-MWC performer in five events (including two relay teams) this past season.
Zarndt, a senior, participated at the NCAA Cross Country Championships this past season to become only the third women's cross country runner in school history to compete at nationals. She is the President of the UNLV Student Athlete Advisory Board and was a finalist for the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. She finished a career-best seventh at the MWC Cross Country Championships this past season and earned first-team All-MWC honors.
Additionally, the 2003 WSF Alumna of the Year Mary Alice Rasmuson was honored. She is a former UNLV swimmer (1990-94) and won the Sportswoman of the Year award in 1994. She is currently General Manager and a part owner of T-Bird Lounge and two convenience stores in the Las Vegas valley. Each year the foundation honors an outstanding alumna, someone who has gone on after college to be a contributing member in her community.
2002-03 UNLV Women's Athletics Awards
Basketball
Rookie: Sheena Moore
Coach's: Talisha Mitchell
M.V.P.: Constance Jinks
Golf
Rookie: Sunny Oh
Coach's: Erin Borcherts
M.V.P.: Sunny Oh
Soccer
Rookie: Jenna Huff
Coach's: None
M.V.P.: Tania Lee & Shannon Fredrickson
Tennis
Rookie: Cindy Treber
Coach's: Agnieszka Abram
M.V.P.: Gyorgyi Zsiros
Softball
Rookie: Samantha Sardinha
Coach's: Bridget Byrne
M.V.P.: Jackie Kerrigan
Volleyball
Rookie: Sarah Fachner
Coach's: Tera Mayes
M.V.P.: Nikki King
Track & Field
Rookie: Meylonn Parker
Coach's: Casey Lektorich
M.V.P.: Jessica Zarndt
Cross Country
Rookie: Michele Suszek
Coach's: Colleen O'Brien
M.V.P.: Jessica Zarndt
Rodeo
Rookie: Amy Peraldo
Coach's: Dani Jeanne Duncan
M.V.P.: Suzanne Montero
Swimming & Diving
Rookie: Shayna Burns
Coach's: JaNae Rohner
M.V.P.: Raluca Udroiu
