The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Osterman nabs pair of ESPY Awards
07.14.2005 | Softball
LOS ANGELES-- Texas junior pitcher Cat Osterman picked up a pair of ESPY Awards at the annual ceremony, held Wednesday, July 13, at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.
Osterman was voted "Best Female College Athlete" and also won "Best Female Olympic Performance" with the U.S. Olympic Softball team at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Osterman, a Houston native, is the first student-athlete outside of women's basketball to win as the nation's best female collegiate athlete.
She was nominated with LSU women's basketball player Seimone Augustus, Harvard hockey player Nicole Corriero, UCLA gymnast Kristen Maloney and Notre Dame soccer player Katie Thorlakson. It was Osterman's second nomination for the award as she was also a nominee as a sophomore in 2003.
"I never in my life thought I'd win an ESPY," Osterman said. "I want to thank everyone who voted for me. The award is a testament to what we achieved at Texas this season, so this award also goes to my teammates and my coaches and everyone else in Austin who support us."
The Olympic softball team won for best performance over Natalie Coughlin, who won five medals in swimming, and Carly Patterson, who won the Olympic gymnastics all-around title.
Osterman was on stage to accept the U.S. Olympic Softball Team's Award with fellow USA teammates Lisa Fernandez, Jennie Finch and Natasha Watley.
"I think a lot of credit for these awards goes to ESPN and the other networks that took an interest in softball this year and aired games," Osterman continued. "The TV attention the sport received this year was amazing. The networks have helped make softball players household names."
In 2005, Osterman led Texas to a third-place finish at the Women's College World Series for the second time in three seasons. She led the nation in earned run average (0.36) and strikeouts per seven innings (15.2, an all-time record) on her way to earning unanimous national player of the year (The Honda Award and USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year), Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year and first-team All-America honors.
The Texas football team was also nominated for "Best Game" for it's last-second victory over Michigan in the 2005 Rose Bowl, but Game 5 of the American League Championship Series between the Red Sox and Yankees won the award.
The 13th-annual ESPY Awards will air on Sunday, July 17, at 8 p.m. Central on ESPN. The show was hosted by actor Matthew Perry.
