CAHANA WINS CONFERENCE AWARD

ODU women's tennis player Nataly Cahana was selected as the Colonial Athletic Association Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in voting by the league's 10 sports information directors.

The conference selected a scholar-athlete in each of its 21 championship sports this season and each of those winners was placed on the ballot for the Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. All of the winners were a starter or important reserve on their team and had a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher.

Among the contenders for the award, four were CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in 2003-04 and three others were named to national All-Academic teams in their respective sports. Not only did the finalists excel in the classroom, but also as athletes. Seventeen of the Scholar-Athletes earned all-conference honors this season.

Cahana is a three-time ITA Academic All-American and a two-time winner of the CAA Scholar-Athlete award in women's tennis. The senior international business major was named to the VaSID Academic All-State team and earned CoSIDA Academic All-District accolades in 2003. On the court, Cahana became the first women's tennis player in conference history to earn CAA Player of the Year honors during all four years, sharing the award with William and Mary's Megan Muth in 2004.

She was also chosen as the ITA East Region Senior Player of the Year and finished the season ranked 34th nationally by the ITA. Cahana reached the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship in 2004 and finished her career with a singles record of 143-28. She won the ITA East Regional earlier this year and reached the semifinals of the Cissie Leary Fall Championships.