Honda Award Winners – Best Female Collegiate Athletes

For the 24th consecutive year, Honda has honored the most outstanding female collegiate athletes in the nation with the Collegiate Women Sports Awards.

Winners are selected in each of the 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports by a panel of more than 1,000 NCAA administrators.

Each year, one deserving athlete is also chosen as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year to receive the coveted Honda-Broderick Cup. This  winner will be announced June 22 in New York.

So, without further ado. The 2009 Honda Award Winners are (drum roll….)

Basketball: Renee Montgomery, UConn senior

Montgomery, a four-year starter as point guard for the Huskies, was the #4 draft WNBA pick this year, chosen by the Minnesota Lynx. A native of St. Albans, West Virginia, she captained her team to an undefeated season this year, culminating with the NCAA championship in which she scored 18 points in the final game.

Other nominees included Angel McCoughtry from the University of Louisville, teammate Maya Moore from the University of Connecticut and Courtney Paris from University of Oklahoma.

Cross-Country: Sally Kipyego,  Texas Tech University senior

Kipyego has been chosen for the third year in a row as the nation’s top collegiate female cross-country athlete. The senior, who  is majoring in nursing, finished her college cross-country career with one of her school’s most impressive athletic records ever. She went undefeated in her three years at Texas Tech and is the most decorated female student-athlete in NCAA Division I cross-country history.

Field Hockey: Susie Rowe, University of Maryland senior

A native of London, England, Terrapin co-captain Rowe is a three-time first-team All-American who led her team to its sixth National title this year (third on her watch), scoring the game’s winning goal to top off her 28-goal, 74-point season, both school records. She was also named the ACC Tournament MVP for the second time, making her only the fifth two-time winner in conference history, as well as ACC Defensive Player of Year.

Other nominees include Jen Long from Penn State, Lauren Pfeiffer from University of Iowa and Shannon Taylor from Syracuse.

Golf: Maria Hernandez, Purdue University senior

Ranked #7 in the nation, Hernandez won six of 12 tournaments this season, with a low round of 67 and a 72.8 stroke average for the season. She recorded a career low of 66 on three occasions, including in 2008 to earn the best third-round score in Big Ten Championships history.

Other nominees included Carlota Ciganda, a freshman at Arizona State University, as well as University of Southern California freshman Jennifer Song and sophomore Lizette Salas.

Gymnastics: Courtney Kupets, University of Georgia senior

Winner of both a Silver and Bronze Medal at the 2004 Olympics as well as the 2007 Honda Award, Kupets was also nominated in 2006.

Other nominees include Kristina Baskett, University of Utah, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, Louisiana State University and Jessica Lopez from University of Denver.

Lacrosse: Hannah Nielse, Northwestern senior

The Australian helped lead her team to its fifth straight NCAA title. She had six assists in the 21-7 win over North Carolina in the championship game. She also led the nation with 142 points and 83 assists, breaking the previous NCAA record for assists in a season (69) that she set in 2007.

Other nominees for the award included Notre Dame’s Jillian Byers, North Carolina’s Amber Falcone and Maryland’s Caitlyn McFadden.

Soccer: Casey Nogueira, University of North Carolina junior

Nogueira resides in Raleigh, North Carolina. The 5′6″ forward scored two second-half goals to lead her Tar Heels to an upset win in last season’s NCAA Championship game, earning her NCAA Tournament offensive MVP honors. She led the nation last season with 58 points and 25 goals, seven of them game winners.

Other nominees included Kerri Hanks and Brittany Bock, both Notre Dame seniors; and Christina Di Martino, a senior at UCLA.

Softball: Danielle Lawrie, Washington junior

The Canadian helped the Huskies win their first national championship in June. Lawrie had a nation-leading 42 wins and 521 strikeouts. The 5-foot-7 right-hander redshirted during the 2008 season to play for her country at the Beijing Olympics, where Canada came in fourth.

The other three finalists were Florida’s Stacey Nelson, Arizona State’s Kaitlin Cochran and Northwestern’s Tammy Williams.

Swim/Dive:   Dana Vollmer, University of California senior

Vollmer, who transferred to Berkeley from the University of Florida, was named the 2009 NCAA Swimmer of the Year after claiming individual titles in both the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events at the 2009 NCAA Championships and helping lead her team to its first ever National Championship.

Other nominees include Julia Smit, a junior at Stanford University; Rebecca Soni, a University of Southern California senior and Gemma Spofforth, a junior at the University of Florida.

Tennis: Mallory Cecil, Duke freshman

From Spartanburg, S.C., Cecil had a 32-4 record in leading Duke to the NCAA team title. She beat out three other finalists — Aurelija Miseviciute of Arkansas, Maria Mosolova of Northwestern and Laura Vallverdu of Miami.

Track & Field: Jenny Barringer, University of Colorado senior.

Barringer competed for the U.S. Olympic team at the 2008 Games in Beijing and finished ninth in the 3,000m steeplechase, setting an American record of 9 minutes, 22.26 seconds. She is a four-time All-American USTFCCCA and Big 12 Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, as well as a four-time Midwest Region Steeplechase Champion and three-time Big 12 Champion.

Other nominees included Sarah Bowman, a senior at the University of Tennessee, Tiffany Ofili, a senior at the University of Michigan and Blessing Okagbare, a junior at the University of Texas, El Paso.

Volleyball: Nicole Fawcett, Penn State senior

A 6′4″ left-side hitter, Fawcett is a native of Zanesfield, Ohio. She led the Lions last season to their second consecutive NCAA title, serving the championship point, and helped her team become the first-ever with a no-loss regular season record (96-0). The AVCA National Player of the Year, Fawcett was also named the Big Ten Player of the Year and is a three-time AVCA First Team All-America selection.

Other nominees included Foluke Akinradewo, a senior at Stanford University (and last year’s Honda Sports Award winner), Christa Harmotto, a fellow Penn State senior and Honda Sports award nominee for the second straight year and Destinee Hooker, a junior at the University of Texas.

Past Honda-Broderick Cup Winners

Candace Parker		2007-08		University of Tennessee, Basketball
Sarah Pavan		2006-07		University of Nebraska, Volleyball
Christine Sinclair		2005-06		The University of Portland, Soccer
Ogonna Nnamani		2004-05		Stanford University, Volleyball
Tara Kirk		2003-04		Stanford University, Swimming & Diving
Natasha Watley		2002-03		University of California, Los Angeles, Softball
Angela Williams		2001-02		University of Southern California, Track & Field
Jackie Stiles		2000-01		Southwest Missouri State, Basketball
Cristina Teuscher		1999-00		Columbia University, Swimming & Diving
Misty May		1998-99		Long Beach State University, Volleyball
Chamique Holdsclaw		1997-98		University of Tennessee, Basketball
Cindy Daws		1996-97		University of Notre Dame, Soccer

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Pomp and Circumstance: Athletes Graduate

It’s that time of year. All across the country,  graduations are taking place.  But when they play “Pomp and Circumstance” and call the roll, there will be a number of no-shows at many of these graduation ceremonies.

Why miss graduation? Well, for student-athletes it can be a busy time of year. Some are participating in post-season play and others are transitioning into their professional careers.

Former Oklahoma women’s basketball stars Courtney and Ashley Paris are two who will not be donning a cap and gown this year. OU’s ceremony is Saturday and the sisters are due to start WNBA training camps on Sunday.

With the camps on the West Coast the two don’t want to travel so soon before practice starts. Courtney was a first-round draft pick of the Sacramento Monarchs and Ashley was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks.

Courtney says she’s not happy about missing the graduation ceremony but the decision is best because of the short amount of time involved.

Other student-athletes are faced with similar dilemmas. Four University of Houston-Victoria softball players are choosing their jerseys over a cap and gown.

Sam Campagna, Lauren Garza, Lindsey Ferguson and Kristen Lindley will graduate on Saturday, but instead of attending their graduation, they’ll be playing in the NAIA National Softball Tournament in Decatur, Ala.

Similarly, there will be four no-shows at Mesa State College’s graduation. Seniors Meagan Hennessy, Jamie Prather, Kristen Silva and Jessica Rayman will be celebrating graduation on the diamond, preparing to play the second game of the NCAA Division II Super Regional 3 tournament, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Duke University’s official graduation ceremony was held last Sunday inside Wallace Wade Stadium, but seniors on the women’s lacrosse team were hosting the opening round of the NCAA Tournament (defeating Virginia 15-13 in overtime).  Luckily, Duke holds a special graduation ceremony for student athletes unable to attend the main graduation.

Former LSU women’s basketball standout Sylvia Fowles will return to campus to graduate this week, according to the Athletics Department. The former Olympic gold medalist, All-American, NCAA Defensive Player of the Year, Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, WNBA first-round draft pick and All-Rookie Team member, EuroLeague Center of the Year, who was two credits shy of graduation when she left school,  said the degree will be a crowning achievement on an already illustrious career.

So which schools do the best job of graduating female athletes? In general, female athletes graduate at a much higher rate than their male counterparts.

With this summer’s graduations of two former basketball players, Georgia coach Andy Landers’ 30-year streak is intact. Fifty-three of his 54 four-year letter winners will have graduated by August; the 54th will wrap up after a one-year internship ends in May 2010.

Lady Hardmon Grooms,  who played at Georgia from 1988-1992, wasn’t exactly on the college graduation fast track. But in August, after this summer’s internship, the former UGA basketball player will finish her long pursuit.

And 12 years after shedding her UGA uniform for those of professional teams around the world, Kedra Holland-Corn will finally get to wear her cap and gown.

Slow and steady, fast and furious, it doesn’t matter. UGA women are unbeaten in their graduation record.

The UConn Husky women’s basketball team also has a pretty good record. Just last month, the National Champions were recognized by the NCAA for top academic performance as a team.  And over the course of 24 seasons, Coach Geno Auriemma’s players have had a 100-percent graduation rate. Renee Montgomery, recently drafted by the Minnesota Lynx,  is among this year’s graduating seniors.  She became the first Husky to have her jersey retired before graduation.

Earlier this month the NCAA released its annual grades known as ”Academic Progress Rates,” a rolling four year measure of Division I athletes’ basic progress toward graduation.

APR scores are calculated by a point system that measures each athlete’s eligibility, retention and graduation in school. For falling below the 925 standard, programs can suffer immediate penalties ranging from loss of scholarships and practice time to a ban on postseason play.

Among the squads with a perfect APR score were Penn State’s women’s field hockey lacrosse, and tennis  teams. Only 7.2 percent of the nation’s 6,323 teams in the survey earned a four-year APR score of 1,000.

Congratulations to the Penn State women’s teams and good luck to all the graduates, even if you go pro in something other than sports!

College Highlight Reel 5/29

In case you’ve been studying for finals and not caught up on what’s happening in NCAA women’s sports around the country – here are some highlights:

Golf: USC Captures Women’s Golf Title (May 22, Albuquerque, NM) The Trojans won the 2008 Women’s Golf Championship event by six-strokes over UCLA and claimed their first women’s golf national championship since 2003.

Lacrosse: Wildcats Top Penn for NCAA Championship (May 25,  – Towson, MD) With help from textbook offensive execution, pristine passing and stout goaltending, the Northwestern Wildcats won their fourth consecutive NCAA championship Sunday, beating Penn, 10-6.

Tennis: Georgia Tech’s Amanda McDowell Wins NCAA Singles Crown (May 26, Tulsa, OK)  All-American Amanda McDowell completed her run through the NCAA Singles Championships by capturing a straight-set win over Baylor’s Zuzana Zemenova in the finals to become the first Yellow Jacket tennis player to earn an individual national championship.

Softball: The Hokies Have Arrived (May 28, Oklahoma City, OK) The Virginia Tech softball team has finally made it to Oklahoma City for the program’s first-ever Women’s College World Series.

Rowing: Division I Rowing Championships (May 20, Indianapolis, IN) The NCAA  has selected the teams that will compete in the 2008 Division I Women’s Rowing Championships including defending champion Brown. UC Berkeley will serve as host May 30 through June 1st.

Field Hockey & Lacrosse Cheers

Grab your stick and hit that ball.
You’re not just some Barbie Doll.
Pass, shoot, put it in the net.
The other team’s in trouble I bet.
Let’s Gooooo… (Team Name).

We’re mighty! We’re crazy!
We’re never, ever lazy!
We’ll beat you! Defeat you!
We’ll even try to eat you!
We’ll cover you in hot sauce, cuz we’re the best at lacrosse.
Gooooo…. ( Team Name.)

Let’s go (Team Name)
It’s time to score.
Check out those (Opposing Team)
And rock ‘em to the core.
You might think we’re cocky.
But we’re the best at field hockey.
Gooooo….. (Team Name).

Ten high school girls to keep an eye on in 2007-08

They run, play lacrosse, volleyball, soccer, golf and basketball and they’re among the top girls playing high school sports. Check out Sports Illustrated list of the 10 girls who deserve the highest high school accolades.

Read more

Women’s Lacrosse – Participation in High School and College

Women’s Participation – High School
Over 15,000 women participate in lacrosse at 600 high schools which currently sponsor programs that are either sanctioned by the athletic department or are recognized as school affiliated club teams.

Lacrosse programs began in eastern preparatory schools and have expanded to public and parochial schools nationwide. Since January 2000 alone, four states (California, Georgia, Illinois and Minnesota) have sanctioned lacrosse. The NFHS reported 74,225 male and female students played in 2001, a 20 percent increase from 2000 and better than a 100 percent increase since 1995.

More than 450 high schools sponsor varsity programs.

Approximately 150 high schools are building towards varsity by offering structured interscholastic “club” programs.

More than 125 schools have junior varsity and freshman programs.

The average team consists of 20-25 players.

Women’s Participation – College and University

Over 5,500 women participate in lacrosse programs at 240 colleges and universities, sanctioned either by the athletic department or the club sports department.

248 participating NCAA Division 1, 2 and 3 universities and college teams compete for the national championships.

Over 50 participating NCAA Division 1, 2 and 3 universities and colleges are building towards varsity programs offering structured intercollegiate “club” programs.

The average program has 20-25 players.

Lacrosse – History of the game

With a history that spans centuries, lacrosse is the oldest sport in North America. It was so popular in fact that many sports historians consider it the original national pastime. Lacrosse was more than just a game and Native Americans played to help in the healing process, to settle disputes, for spiritual development, and to prepare for war.

The evolution of the Native American game into modern lacrosse began in 1636. At that time, some type of lacrosse was played by at least 48 Native American tribes scattered throughout southern Canada and all parts of the United States. French pioneers began playing the game avidly in the 1800s. Canadian dentist W. George Beers standardized the game in 1867 with the adoption of set field dimensions, limits to the number of players per team and other basic rules.

The first women’s lacrosse game was played in 1890 at the St. Leonard’s School in Scotland. Although an attempt was made to start women’s lacrosse at Sweet Briar College in Virginia in 1914, it was not until 1926 that Miss Rosabelle Sinclair established the first women’s lacrosse team in the United States at the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, Maryland.

Men’s and women’s lacrosse were played under virtually the same rules, with no protective equipment, until the mid-1930s. At that time, men’s lacrosse began evolving dramatically, while women’s lacrosse continued to remain true to the game’s original rules. Men’s and women’s lacrosse remain derivations of the same game today, but are played under different rules. Women’s rules limit stick contact, prohibit body contact and, therefore, require little protective equipment. Men’s lacrosse rules allow some degree of stick and body contact, although violence is neither condoned nor allowed.