ESPN announced the nominees for the 20th annual ESPY Awards and the number of female athletes continues to grow. Leading the way is Tennis star, Maria Sharapova with three nominations. Maria is up for Best Female Athlete, Best Comeback Athlete and Best Female Tennis Player. Alpine Skier Lindsey Vonn, Soccer star Abby Wambach and Baylor Basketball player Brittany Griner join Sharapova in the Best Female Athlete category.
Paralympic Swimmer Jessica Long up for “Best Female Athlete with a Disability.”
Nominees to watch are where the women face off against the men. Soccer stand-out, Alex Morgan will have a battle against NBA star Jeremey Lin and others in the “Best Breakthrough Athlete” category. Baylor Women’s Basketball coach, Kim Mulkey is up for Best Coach/Manager and the team is up for “Best Team of the Year”.
2012 Female ESPY Award Nominees:
Best Female Athlete
Brittney Griner, Baylor Basketball
Maria Sharapova, Tennis
Lindsey Vonn, Alpine Skier
Abby Wambach, Soccer
Best Breakthrough Athlete
Anthony Davis, Kentucky Basketball
Robert Griffin III, Baylor Football
Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
Jeremy Lin, New York Knicks
Alex Morgan, Soccer
Best Record-Breaking Performance
Drew Brees, Passing Yards Record
Coach K, Wins Milestone
Mariano Rivera, Saves Milestone
Lexi Thompson, Youngest Winner
Best Coach/Manager
John Calipari, Kentucky Basketball
Tom Coughlin, NY Giants
Kim Mulkey, Baylor Women’s Basketball
Patrick Murphy, Alabama Softball
Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat
Darryl Sutter, L.A. Kings
Best Comeback Athlete
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Johan Santana, New York Mets
Maria Sharapova, Tennis
Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
Best WNBA Player
Seimone Augustus, Minnesota Lynx
Tamika Catchings, Indiana Fever
Tina Charles, Connecticut Sun
Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta Dream
Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
Best Female Golfer
Cristie Kerr
Yani Tseng
So Yeon Ryu
Best Female Tennis Player
Victoria Azarenka
Petra Kvitova
Maria Sharapova
Samantha Stosur
Best Female College Athlete
Brittney Griner, Baylor Basketball
Alex Jupiter, USC Volleyball
Caitlin Leverenz, Cal Swimming
Teresa Noyola, Stanford Soccer
Jackie Traina, Alabama Softball
Best Female Action Sports Athlete
Jamie Anderson
Kelly Clark
Carissa Moore
Kaya Turski
Best Female Athlete with a Disability
Jessica Long
Chelsea McClammer
Tatyana McFadden
Alana Nichols
Melissa Stockwell
Best Track & Field Athlete
Walter Dix
Carmelita Jeter
Jason Richardson
Christian Taylor
Best Team of the Year
Alabama football
Baylor women’s basketball
Los Angeles Kings
Miami Heat
New York Giants
St. Louis Cardinals
Celebrity host, Rob Riggle (actor/comedian seen in “The Hangover”, “Step Brothers” an more) will serve as host of the 20th annual ESPYs. See the complete list of the nominees and vote for your favorite athletes at ESPN.com/ESPYS. The ESPYS will be televised live Wednesday, July 11 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPNHD from the Nokia Theatre at L.A. LIVE.
Photo by LiftStudios.com ESPY logo via ESPN.com
