May 30, 2002

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest junior Bea Bielik (Valley Stream, N.Y.) is one of four finalists nationwide for the 2001-02 Honda Sports Award. The annual honor is presented to the top woman collegiate tennis player and will be announced June 3.

After a national balloting process, the tennis winner will become a nominee for the Honda-Broderick Cup, which is awarded annually to the nationˇ¦s outstanding collegiate woman athlete of the year.

This marks the second year in a row Bielik has been a finalist for the Honda Award. This season, Bielik captured the 2002 NCAA Singles Championship, winning six straight-set matches and setting a new NCAA record for fewest games lost (21). The ACC Player of the Year, she finished the 2001-02 season with a 35-2 singles record, and was ranked No. 1 in both singles and doubles for most of the season.

Other nominees for this year's Honda Award in women's tennis include Erin Burdette and Gabriela Lastra of Stanford and Jessica Lehnhoff of Florida.

In honor of Bielik's selection, the Honda Awards Program will donate $1,000 towards the women's athletic fund at Wake Forest University. The national winnerˇ¦s school will receive $5,000.