UNLV celebrates success among women athletes

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, May 2, 2002 | 8:35 a.m.

Award winners

Most Valuable Players: Linda Frohlich (basketball); Hwanhee Lee (golf); Robyn Krivacic and Anita Pedford (soccer); Geney Orris (softball); Lorena Diaconescu (swimming and diving); Gyorgyi Zsiros (tennis); Jessica Zarndt (cross country); Blair Wilkes (volleyball); Suzanne Montero (rodeo).

Coaches Awards: Constance Jinks (basketball); Erin Borcherts (golf); Marni Polakow (soccer); Melissa Inouye (softball); Dana Penn (swimming/diving); Marianne Bakken and Agnieszka Abram (tennis); Jennifer Turk (cross country); Amy Lewis (volleyball); Dani Jeanne Duncan (rodeo).

Rookie Awards: Sherry McCracklin (basketball); Alice Gleason (soccer); Pauline Glenn (softball); Raluca Udroiu (swimming/diving); Tracie Chong (tennis); Kelley Wright (cross country); Sheila Clemente (volleyball), Nataly Tatone (rodeo).

Note: Track and field will not name its award winners until the end of the outdoor season.

UNLV held its annual women's athletic awards banquet on Wednesday night at the Moyer Student Union Ballroom. And there was plenty to celebrate.

"This really has been a historic year in some ways," Lisa Kelleher, associate athletics director/senior woman administrator said. "Our women's programs are energized and moving forward. A lot of that has to do with the naming of John Robinson as athletic director."

Robinson has encouraged both male and female student athletes to attend events and support their peers. Many of his top football players could be found regularly at women's basketball games this past winter.

"And when our softball team swept New Mexico and Colorado State here last weekend, our biggest cheering sections were made of football players," Kelleher noted.

But fan support was only one of the big pluses for UNLV women's athletics this past year.

Among the others:

The banquet, which attracted 250 athletes and boosters, named MVPs in all 10 women's sports except track and field, which will wait until the end of the outdoor season in June to name its award winners.

Cyndi (Parus) Castro, the head softball coach at Centennial High School, was honored as the 2002 Alumna of the Year.00