University of Miami Athletics honored 11 of its student-athletes Sunday at the fourth annual Celebration of Women's Athletics Presented by adidas.
More than 300 people attended the event, which was held at the Watsco Fieldhouse prior to Miami's women's basketball game against Atlantic Coast Conference rival Florida State. This year's CWA featured ESPN college analyst and reporter Maria Taylor as emcee and former UM All-American and three-time Olympic medalist Lauryn Williams, B.B.A. '05, as the keynote speaker.
The CWA honors current Miami female student-athletes from each of UM's nine women's programs for excellence on the playing field, as well as in the classroom and community. It also honors some of the pioneers who have helped pave the way for the continued success of women's athletics at Miami.
This year's CWA winners were as follows:
- Senior Erykah Davenport (basketball)
- Junior Anne den Otter (cross country)
- Junior Brittny Ellis (indoor track and field)
- Senior Wally Layland (diving)
- Senior Sinead Lohan (tennis)
- Senior Taegan Lynch (rowing)
- Junior Anna Runia (outdoor track and field)
- Junior Haley Templeton (volleyball)
- Senior Phallon Tullis-Joyce (soccer)
- Junior Dewi Weber (golf)
- Junior Roxanne Yu (swimming)
Williams set seven school records at UM, earning All-American honors nine times and winning the NCAA title in the 100 meters as a senior in 2004. She won the silver medal in the 100 meters at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, and later won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London as a member of the 4x100 meter relay team. Williams also owns three World Championships gold medals, one in the 100 meters (2005) and two in the 4x100 meter relay (2005, 2007).
After announcing her retirement from track and field in 2013, Williams joined the U.S. bobsled team and earned a silver medal in the two-woman bobsled at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. She is one of only five athletes to win a medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games – and is the first American woman to accomplish the feat.
Williams, who is a member of both the UM Sports Hall of Fame and Iron Arrow Honor Society, currently lives in Dallas and is founder of Worth Winning, a financial planning firm.
Taylor, who also moderated a Q&A session with Ellis, Tullis-Joyce, Layland and Weber, just completed her third season with ESPN. This past season she was a reporter for both College GameDay Built by Home Depot and ABC Saturday Night Football. In addition to her football duties, Taylor is a host of Big Monday and the network's NCAA Women's Final Four studio coverage.
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Story courtesy of Hurricane Sports
