CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - First-year Tiahna Padilla has been selected as a finalist for the nation's top women's collegiate rugby player award, the MA Sorensen Award.

The award is named after World Cup-winning Eagle MA Sorensen, a player, coach, and doctor who served as a trailblazer for future generations of women's rugby players. 

Nominees were voted on with the help of the collegiate rugby community to be selected as finalists. The finalist group consists of five players who will attend the awards ceremony in Seattle, Washington on June 10 at the Washington Athletic Club. The awards panel will vote on the winner, including MA Sorensen herself, before the event and announce it at the ceremony. 

Tiahna Padilla is the second Harvard women's rugby player in the program's history to be nominated for this award as a first-year. Padilla has had a stand-out first season on the team. She topped stats with the highest number of assists (10), 18 clean turnovers, 32 offloads, and secured nine tries and 45 points during the fall 2022 15s season. Padilla has both started and scored a try in almost every fall season game. As a key offense and defense player, Padilla was integral to Harvard's run to the NIRA final in the fall. So far this spring 7s season, Padilla is at eight tries and has both started and scored in every tournament thus far, including the Ivy 7s Championship. Padilla earned All-NIRA First Team honors and received the Back of the Year Award and Newcomer of the Year award from the team.