PASADENA — Traci Ramirez of the University of La Verne women's soccer team was honored with the SCIAC Award of Distinction, as voted by the league's head coaches.

The award of distinction recognizes a senior female soccer athlete for exemplary achievements through her higher education experience. Specifically it recognizes students who, while competing on their teams, have been recognized by coaches, officials, institutional administrators or others as making significant contributions representing their school and serving their communities based on the following criteria: advancing sportsmanship, balancing sports and major personal academic achievements, demonstrating behavior that models efforts of inclusion within their teams and those of their opponents, contributes to a sense of civility in society or otherwise innovatively elevates the profile of what participation in the SCIAC conference and as a Division III student-athlete can offer to the betterment of community. 

"Traci has grinded through her four years as a student-athlete," La Verne head coach Lauryn Pehanich said. "She works hard in the classroom, in her internship, in her job and then she stepped onto the field and gave it everything that she has. I know that she will be successful in what she decides to do next because of the type of character she has shown throughout her time as a student-athlete."

Ramirez will graduate with a major in biology and plans to pursue a master's in nursing to become a nurse practitioner.

She has been a four-year contributor to the women's soccer program and appeared in all of La Verne's 18 games this season. In addition the Chino Hills native was named to the Academic All-SCIAC Team in 2014 and 2015 and is on track to earn the honors again this year.