INDIANAPOLIS — Tatiana Munoz, recent graduate of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and a two-time National Champion on the women’s bowling team, was informed recently that she was one of the NCAA’s Postgraduate Scholarship recipients. Munoz was one of 29 women in the nation to earn the award for the winter sports season.
“Being awarded this scholarship is such an honor and a blessing,” said Munoz. “I am full of joy and satisfaction. I truly appreciate all that UMES has given me the past four years, including this significant nomination. I have to say thank you to all of the coaches, professor and administrators at UMES for the help, teachings and life lessons and to the NCAA who recognized my accomplishments and deemed it worthy of their investment.”
The NCAA awards up to 174 postgraduate scholarships annually to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition.
Munoz (Ibague Tolima, Colombia) bowled for four years for the Hawks, won the NCAA Championship in 2012 and the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Collegiate National Championship in 2013. She won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championship three times (2013, 2014, 2015) and this past season was a first-team All-MEAC selection.
“Her record indicates a strong athletic and academic performance,” said Dr. Robert Johnson, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s Faculty Athletics Representative. “Miss Munoz graduated Summa Cum Laude and has strong leadership characteristics which will go a long way to help her complete the academic requirements of graduate school. Those traits will help her become a success in any field she chooses. We are extremely proud to have a person with such a commitment to athletics and academics representing our school.”
Munoz was recently named the UMES Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and has won numerous awards for her academic prowess, including being named to the MEAC Commissioner’s Team, NCBCA All-Academic Awards, NTCA Academic honors and was a two-time Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar award recipient.
She will receive a one-time non-renewable scholarship of $7,500.00. The NCAA awards these three-times per year, corresponding to each sport season (fall, winter and spring). In each season there are 29 scholarship available for men and 29 for women.
Munoz was the only NCAA bowling student-athlete to earn the award.
“We are so proud of Tatiana,” said her head coach Kayla Bandy. “She has been an example of the ideal student-athlete. She works hard on the lanes and in the classroom and gives of her time willingly. She has been inspiring to her teammates and classmates and to me as her coach. I am lucky to have had two years seeing her grow into a wonderful woman.”
Munoz plans to pursue her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, hopefully at the University of Texas. She is entering the workforce immediately however as a case manager in Kansas, before starting school again in the fall of 2016.
The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship was created in 1964 to promote and encourage postgraduate education by rewarding the Association's most accomplished student-athletes through their participation in NCAA championship and/or emerging sports. Athletics and academic achievements, campus involvement, community service, volunteer activities and demonstrated leadership are evaluated. An equitable approach is employed in reviewing an applicant's nomination form to provide all student-athlete nominees an opportunity to receive the postgraduate award, regardless of sport, division, gender or race. In maintaining the highest broad-based standards in the selection process, the program aims to reward those individuals whose dedication and effort are reflective of those characteristics necessary to succeed and thrive through postgraduate study.