Given by the Basketball Hall of Fame, the award recognizes the top women’s shooting guard in Division I.
TAMPA (Oct. 26, 2021) – The University of South Florida women’s basketball standout Elena Tsineke has been chosen as one of 20 watch list candidates for the 2022 Ann Meyers-Drysdale Award. The award is given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association to the player recognized as the top shooting guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. In its fifth year, the award is Named after the first player, male or female, named to an All-America Team in four straight college seasons.
Click here to see the complete release from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Tsineke, who hails from Thessaloniki, Greece, is the Bulls’ top returning scorer and turned in another marquee season for South Florida, establishing herself as one of the premier players in The American and one of the top young shooting guards in the nation. She was named to The American All-Conference First Team at the conclusion of the 2020-21 campaign after averaging a team-high 13.6 points per game – good enough for eighth in the conference – 2.2 rebounds per game, and 1.8 assists per outing. She was also selected to the AAC All-Tournament Team, averaging 13.3 points per contest in the three games.
Most recently, Tsineke was named to The American preseason All-Conference First Team. She joined teammates Bethy Mununga (Zellik, Belgium) and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu (Nkongsamba, Cameroon) as First Team selections. Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.) and Elisa Pinzan (Murano, Italy) were tabbed Second Team preseason all-conference selections.
College basketball fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2022 Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just five. In March the five finalists will be presented to Ms. Meyers Drysdale and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee where a winner will be selected.
The winner of the 2022 Ann Meyers-Drysdale Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award, the Cheryl Miller Small Forward Award, the Katrina McClain Power Forward Award and the Lisa Leslie Center Award, in addition to the Men’s Starting Five.
Previous winners of the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award include Ashley Owusu, Maryland (2021), Aari McDonald, Arizona (2020), Asia Durr, Louisville (2019) and Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State (2018).
For more information on the 2022 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #MeyersAward on Twitter and Instagram. Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Friday, October 29.
Entering its 50th Anniversary, South Florida, who was recently chosen to finish atop the American Athletic Conference this season in the league’s preseason coaches poll, and is ranked No. 21 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25, tips off the 2021-22 campaign with back-to-back home games against Texas Rio Grande Valley and Alabama State on Tues., Nov. 9, and Thur., Nov. 11, respectively, before traveling to Knoxville, Tenn. to face Tennessee on Nov. 15 in the AAC/SEC Challenge.
Click here for South Florida’s complete 2021-22 season schedule.
Season tickets are on sale now. Fans are encouraged to visit USFBullsTix.com or call 1-800-GoBulls to purchase their season tickets.
About USF Women’s Basketball
To stay up-to-date on the latest USF women’s basketball news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).
USF recorded its best season in program history during the 2020-21 campaign, all while navigating the unpredictable COVID-19 landscape. In doing so, the Bulls won their first-ever American Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and posted their highest ranking in the Associated Press Top25 poll – reaching as high as No. 12 – and made their ninth straight postseason appearance, and sixth NCAA appearance in the last 10 years.
USF has made 16 postseason tournament appearances and had seven NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 21 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to nine 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship, and won nearly 400 career games. For his efforts on the sideline during the 2020-21 season, Fernandez was named a finalist for the WBCA and semifinalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Awards. He was also tabbed the 2021 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
The Bulls posted a 19-4 record and had five players, during the 2020-21 campaign, the Bulls had five players recognized by The American for impressive seasons, including Elisa Pinzan (Most Improved Player, All-Conference Second Team), Maria Alvarez (Co-Sixth Player of the Year), Bethy Mununga (All-Conference First Team), Elena Tsineke (All-Conference First Team), and Sydni Harvey (All-Conference Third Team).
In addition, Harvey was named the American Athletic Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player and to the All-Tournament Team, while Mununga and Tsineke were also All-Tournament selections.
– #GoBulls –
