Sept. 10, 2007

Former student-athletes Heather Bravo (Las Vegas, NV/Durango H.S.) and Rowena Hamlet (Mississauga, ON/ Lorne Park S.S.) were selected by the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics' as winners of the Ann LaMantia Award on Monday (Sept. 10).

For the second consecutive season, Bravo nearly missed out on becoming the fourth player in UTPA history to record 300 kills and 300 digs in a season, finishing three kills shy of that mark. She earned second team All-Independent honors for the first time in her career and was ranked second on team in kills 297 and digs 318.

Bravo posted 16 matches of 10 or more digs and 14 contests of double-digit kills and was ranked first on the squad in total attacks 913, service aces 27 and kills per game 3.30. The former volleyball standout recorded her ninth best single-season mark in digs as a sophomore. Bravo is majoring in psychology with a minor in communications.

Hamlet qualified for the NCAA Division I Regional Championships in the 400-meter hurdles where she finished seventh and recorded the second fastest time in program history at that meet with a time of 1:01.88.

Hamlet set the school record in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 59.96 en route to placing second at the Rice Twilight. Hamlet won three individual crowns in the 400-meter hurdles at the Bayou Classic, Angela Proctor Classic and Whataburger/UTSA Relays. Hamlet is majoring in pre-med and biology.

The new Ann LaMantia Award is the female equivalent of the Lou Hassell Award. It is designed to go to the top senior women's athlete on our Lady Bronc teams each year. The LaMantia award is to go to the top student-athlete who combines good academics with athletic performance that contributes materially to her team.

The Ann LaMantia Award, named to honor the late Mrs. Joe LaMantia who served on the Pan American University Board of Regents, has been instituted to select the outstanding woman student-athlete each year at Pan American.

Mrs. LaMantia served with distinction on Pan American's Board of Regents from 1978 until 1983. She was interested in both men's and women's intercollegiate athletics.

The award is given to the Lady Bronc senior athlete "In recognition of her ability to exhibit and maintain a high degree of quality and excellence in both academic and intercollegiate fields of endeavor."

UTPA Sports Information