IRVINE, Calif. – Petra Melounova of women's tennis and Colton Cowell of men's volleyball were the University of Hawai'i's recipients for the 2020 Big West Scholar Athlete of the Year award. The conference honored two student-athletes from each institution – one male and one female – acknowledging their accomplishments on the field, in the classroom and in their communities.
 
This marks the third consecutive year that Melounova has been chosen as UH's women's recipient and the third straight year a men's volleyball student-athlete has been picked.
 
Last May, the duo also received the 2020 Jack Bonham Award, given to UH's top male and female senior student-athlete and the highest honor bestowed by the Athletics Department.
 
Colton Cowell, Hawai'i (Hometown: Makawao, Maui)
An outside hitter for the Hawai'i men's volleyball team, Cowell was named All-Big West First Team in 2020 and AVCA Second Team All-American for the second year in a row. Cowell also was a 2020 Off the Block Karch Kiraly Award finalist, awarded to the best outside hitter in the country. He led the United States in the U.S. Pan American Cup in kills with 47 during the tournament. A graduate student studying Economics, Cowell has been named to the Dean's List four times and was also the 2020 recipient of the Jack Bonham Award. Cowell hopes to play volleyball professionally after completing his Master's degree, but will look for opportunities in the world of finance and economics as well.  
 
Petra Melounova, Hawai'i (Hometown: Havlickuv Brod, Czech Republic) 
A Hawai'i women's tennis player, Melounova reached the Top 16 in the NCAA Singles Championship Tournament in 2019 and was named the Big West Player of the Year for the third time in her career. Melounova has been recognized as one of Hawai'i's best players in program history as a three-time First Team All-Big West member in both singles and doubles. An Electrical Engineering major, Melounova has made the Dean's List five times and was also the recipient of the 2020 Jack Bonham Award, given to the top female senior scholar athlete at Hawai'i. Melounova is working toward completing her graduate degree in electrical engineering. Melounova also received recognition as UH's Big West Female Scholar Athlete of the Year in both 2018 and 2019.