Feb. 5, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State junior women's volleyball player Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) is one of four nominees for the Dapper Dan Sportswoman of the Year, awarded annually by the Dapper Dan Sports Charities to the figure from the Pittsburgh area who has made the most outstanding accomplishment in sports in the past year.
Fans can vote for the top Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year by visiting http://www.post-gazette.com/dapperdan/ballot. The Dapper Dan Charities executive committee will then select the winners from the top vote-getters. Harmotto joins Pittsburgh women's basketball head coach Agnus Berenato, the Pittsburgh Passion women's pro football team and Marcedes Walker, a center for the Pittsburgh women's basketball team, as the nominees in the Sportswoman of the Year category. Winners will be announced on Feb. 24.
Named the Big Ten Player of the Year, Harmotto helped the Nittany Lions capture their second National Championship title in program history and earned AVCA First Team All-America and NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team honors in the process. One of four nominees for the Honda Award, awarded to the top female athlete in a given sport, Harmotto finished second in the nation in hitting percentage, attacking at a .492 clip which ranks second all-time in Penn State history and first all-time during the rally-scoring era. She just missed the NCAA record for hitting percentage in the tournament, attacking at a .548 percentage with 3.00 kills per game through 20 games and ranked second in the Big Ten and sixth in the country with an average of 1.65 blocks per game.
The winners of the Dapper Dan Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year will be honored at the 72nd annual Dapper Dan Dinner and Sports Auction on April 1 at the Pittsburgh Convention Center. For more information, please visit http://www.post-gazette.com/dapperdan/dinner.asp. Proceeds from the dinner benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com.
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