Kelly McCain Nominated For Women's Tennis Honda Award

May 27, 2003

DURHAM, N.C. - Duke University sophomore Kelly McCain has been selected one of four nominees for the Tennis Honda Award. McCain along with Tennessee's Vilmarie Castellvi, Georgia's Agata Cioroch and Stanford's Amber Liu have been nominated for the prestigious award.

McCain, a 2002 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-America and 2003 ACC Player of the Year, became the fourth Duke women's tennis player to win a Grand Slam singles title as she won the ITA Riviera All-American in the fall.

The Tampa, Fla., product finished with a 35-3 singles mark and 27-1 in dual match action, while registering 15 victories against top 25 ranked players. She advanced to the semifinals of the Omni Hotels National Indoor Championship and became only the fifth Duke player to be ranked No. 1 in singles on Feb. 26. McCain was ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the nationally in six of the eight sets of rankings.

McCain led Duke to its first ITA National Team Indoor Championship with four victories at the No. 1 singles position. She teamed with Hillary Adams in doubles and finished with a 25-13 record. The duo were ranked in the top 16 nationally all season long and advanced to the final 16 of the NCAA Doubles Championship before falling to the eventual National Champions Christina Fusano and Raquel Kops-Jones of California (6-2, 6-1).

The winner of the tennis award will become a nominee for The Honda-Broderick Cup, awarded annually to the nation's outstanding collegiate woman athlete of the year. In addition to the honor of this nomination, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. will donate $1,000 to the Duke women's athletic fund. The university of the award recipient will receive $5,000.

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