Estefania Prieto Season 2019-20

• Q&A with Estefania Prieto

Honors & Awards

• NTCA All-Academic Team (2017)
• Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award (2019, 2020)
• Academic All-Big Ten (2018, 2019)
• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019; Spring 2017, 2018)
• Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
• 2012 Central America and Caribbean Sub-16 Champion

2019-20 (Outlook)
Estefania Prieto (pronounced es-te-fa-NEE-a pre-EH-tow) is a key part of a strong three-member senior class that hopes to lead Nebraska in pursuit of its sixth NCAA title in 2020. Prieto joined fellow seniors Raquel Orozco and Allison Morris in competing in all 10 tournaments for the Huskers last season. Prieto finished with a strong 199.1 average over 51 games, including a trio of top-six individual finishes.

Prieto is also a standout in the classroom, capturing her second NTCA All-Academic honor in 2019, while adding her second straight appearance on the Academic All-Big Ten team. The two-time letterwinner from Bogota, Colombia was also an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award winner a year ago. 

2018-19 (Junior)
Estefania Prieto (pronounced es-te-fa-NEE-a pre-EH-tow) found a spot within the rotation for Nebraska and competed in all 10 tournaments throughout the season. She completed the year with three top-10 individual finishes and added a 12th-place performance at the Bearcat Open to help the Huskers win a team title.

She put together an outstanding performance by taking third at the Big Red Invitational with a season-best 223.6 average. She added a fourth-place individual finish with a 223.4 average at the Warhawk Classic. She also finished sixth at the Prairie View A&M Invitational.

In four team games at the NCAA Championships, Prieto put together a 203.0 average to help the Huskers advance to the NCAA semifinals. She finished the season with a 199.1 average over 51 games (including the NCAA Tournament).

Off the lanes, Prieto earned Academic All-Big Ten honors for the second straight season, while claiming a spot on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the fall of 2018. She earned a spot on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team and claimed an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award.

2017-18 (Sophomore)
Prieto competed in three tournaments as a redshirt freshman for the Huskers. Her best average of the season was 183.0 at the Brunswick Bearcat Open and where she had a season-high pinfall of 915 in five games. Prieto also excelled in the community, earning a spot on the Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll and she was a member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.

2016-17 (Redshirt)
Prieto redshirted during the 2016-17 season, as she worked hard to add valuable depth to the Husker roster. She got off to a strong start in the classroom, as she was named to the NTCA All-Academic Team in 2017. She also earned spots on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the fall and spring semesters of 2016-17, and the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2017.

Before Nebraska
Prieto came to Nebraska after competing for her native Colombia in multiple junior international events and attended University de Los Andes in Colombia. She was the 2012 Central America and Caribbean Sub-16 champion. She also bowled one 300 game during her junior career. Prieto also played tennis in high school. She is the fourth Colombian to bowl for Nebraska.

Personal
The daughter of Gustavo Prieto and Monica Pinilla, Estefania was born on Oct. 23, 1997. She has one sister, Sara. A 2015 graduate of the Buckingham School in Bogota, Colombia, Prieto is majoring in business administration at Nebraska, and she was named to the NTCA All-Academic Team in 2017. She is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and a five-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. She is a three-year member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.