WILMINGTON, DE -- The University of Delaware was well represented at the 59th annual Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association Awards Banquet Sunday at the Chase Center on the Riverfront.

Tyresa Smith (at right), a native of Dover, DE who led the Blue Hen women’s basketball squad to a berth in the NCAA Tournament and was drafted by the Women’s National Basketball Association in 2007, was the co-winner of the John J. Brady Award as the Delaware Athlete of the Year, the 2007 Blue Hen men’s lacrosse team was named state Team of the Year, and former UD baseball player and current Brandywine High School field hockey coach Willy Miranda was named the winner of the Herm Reitzes Award for public service.

The annual banquet honors the state athlete of the year, team of the year, and coach of the year as well as recognizing the Delaware high school All-State teams from the past fall season. In addition, sports celebrities from the state of Delaware and from the Philadelphia and Baltimore areas are featured speakers. The athlete, coach, team, and public service awards are selected by members of the DSBA.

Smith shared the Brady Award with U.S. Field Hockey team member Carrie Lingo and became the 11th athlete - and first woman - with UD ties to earn the award, joining Bob Trivitis (football) in 1954, Al Neiger in 1959 (baseball), Mike Brown in 1963 (football), Herb Slattery in 1966 (football), Dick Kelley in 1969 (football), Steve Taylor in 1977 (baseball), Bill Vergantino in 1992 (football), Daryl Brown in 1994 (football), and Eddie Conti (football) and Kevin Mench in 1998 (baseball).

A former state high school Player of the Year at Polytech High School, Smith capped an outstanding four-year career at Delaware during the 2006-07 season as she led the Blue Hens to a record of 26-6 and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. She led the Colonial Athletic Association in scoring with 19.8 points per game and was the two-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year. She finished her career No. 2 on the all-time UD scoring list with 1,635 points and set school records for points in a season (632) and steals in a career (342).

She also notched several firsts for UD women’s basketball players as she became the first Blue Hen to be named to the Kodak/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-Region 2 team and became the first to be drafted by the WNBA when she was the No. 18 overall pick by the Phoenix Mercury. She signed on with the Detroit Shock later in the season and was a member of a Shock team that advanced to the league championship series.

The 2007 Delaware men’s lacrosse team became the second UD squad to earn the DSBA Team of the Year award, joining the 2003 Delaware football team that captured the NCAA I-AA national title. The award was first presented in 1999.

Head coach Bob Shillinglaw’s squad captured national attention with its thrilling campaign this past spring. Trailing in the fourth quarter in a mid-April regular season game vs. Villanova and facing elimination from the CAA playoff race, the Blue Hens pulled out the 19-18 victory and went on to win seven straight games before falling to eventual national champion Johns Hopkins in the NCAA semifinals before a national ESPN television audience and 52,000 fans at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium.

Along the way, the Hens captured their first CAA Tournament title with road wins over Drexel and Towson, dominated defending national champion Virginia 14-8 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Charlottesville, VA, and knocked off UMBC 10-6 in the NCAA quarterfinals. The team featured three-time All-American Alex Smith, the 2007 CAA Player of the Year who rewrote the NCAA record books as a faceoff specialist.

Miranda, a Delaware graduate who was a member of the 1970 Blue Hen baseball team that advanced to the NCAA College World Series, was honored for his service to the state. At one point or another he has coached field hockey, girl’s lacrosse, boy’s and girl’s basketball, swimming, and track and field at Brandywine, Mt. Pleasant, and Wilmington High Schools.

He currently is field hockey coach at Brandywine High School and was instrumental in starting the successful Turf Bowl, an annual field hockey event held at the University of Delaware’s Rullo Stadium that includes most of the state’s field hockey programs.