CARROLLTON, Ga. – The spring of 2022 will mark the 15th year since the inception of the Helena Harbridge Award on the campus of the University of West Georgia, and for the first time in the award history, a women's tennis player has earned the honor. Camille Portalier, a senior on the UWG women's tennis team has been selected as the 2022 recipient of the Helena Harbridge International Student-Athlete Award.

The award is presented in memory of Harbridge, a member of the 2005-06 UWG women's golf team who died in her sleep in April 2006 at the age of 18 of a suspected heart arrhythmia. She was wrapping up her freshman season and on the cusp of becoming an Academic All-American with a 4.0 GPA. In her honor, her parents teamed up with the university to create the Helena Harbridge International Student-Athlete Award, which recognizes an international student-athlete with the best combination of athletic performance, classroom achievement, teamwork, team spirit and community involvement.

Portalier has played on the No. 1 line for the Wolves for the past three seasons, playing an abbreviated season in 2020 before becoming an All-Gulf South Conference performer as a junior last year. She had an overall singles record of 7-5 in 2021, earning Second Team All-GSC honors. She has also become a record-holder at UWG with the most No. 1 singles victories in school history. Before Wednesday's match at Shorter, Portalier has 15 career victories, all as the No. 1 line player. 

"Camille is an outstanding person both on and off the court," said interim head coach Rhonda Bush. "Her goal is to finish her MBA here at UWG and her tenacity will allow her to go very far in life."

In addition, Portalier is a leader on the team with community service efforts, as the team has done multiple service projects around the Carrollton area over the last two seasons. She has also been a Gold member or better of the UWG Student-Athlete Honor Roll since coming to the university, boasting a 3.66 GPA in the fall semester as a double-major in marketing and management. 

Helena Harbridge's father, Paul Harbridge, penned a children's book in honor of his daughter titled, "Helena's Voyage." Harbridge continues to use golf as a bond between him and his daughter. He plays his first round of the season on April 15, the day Helena passed away, and the final round of the year on her birthday, Oct. 29.