June 1, 2005

DURHAM, N.C. -- College golf star Anna Grzebien, a sophomore at Duke University, and lacrosse standout Kristen Kjellman, a Northwestern University sophomore, have been voted the nation's most outstanding athletes in their respective sports, according to results of national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program, now in its 29th year.

For winning, each will receive the Honda Award, given annually to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports as well as an automatic nomination for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. The Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year will be determined by separate balloting involving all NCAA-member institutions and the winner will receive the Honda-Broderick Cup in New York on June 29, 2005.

The nominees in golf were identified based on their finish at the NCAA Championships. Lacrosse nominees were selected by the USILWCA.

A native of Narragansett, RI, Grzebien claimed individual medalist honors at the 2005 NCAA Championship as she led the Duke women's golf team to its third NCAA crown at the Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore. Grzebien became just the third Blue Devil to win the NCAA Individual Championship with rounds of 73, 75, 65, 73 as she finished with a total of 286. In the third round of the championship, Grzebien fired a career-best mark of 65 to lead Duke from a nine-stroke deficit to an eight-stroke lead heading into the final round.

Grzebien was named NGCA First Team All-America and All-ACC as a sophomore in 2004-05 as she registered a career-best 73.88 stroke average to go along with four top-5, five top-10 and nine top-20 finishes in 11 events. In her last three tournaments, Grzebien posted two victories and one second place finish, including medalist honors the East Regional. Grzebien becomes the third golfer in Duke history to win the Honda Award as Candy Hannemann won it in 2001 and Virada Nirapathpongporn in 2002.

The other nominees in the golf category were: Amie Cochran from the University of California at Los Angeles, Leah Wigger from the University of Virginia and Brittany Lang, also from Duke.

Kristen Kjellman led Northwestern's women's lacrosse team to its first NCAA championship in just its fourth varsity season, following the team's undefeated 2005 campaign (21-0). She was named the NCAA Championship's Most Outstanding Player, scoring the first five goals in the title game. With two goals in the semifinal, she completed her season with a team-leading 59 goals, 32 assists and 91 points. She was ranked third nationally with 4.94 points per game and sixth in assists on average.

The other nominees in the lacrosse category were: Amy Appelt from the University of Virginia, Katie Chrest from Duke, and Katieanne Christian from Dartmouth College.

Other Honda Award winners already announced include: Seimone Augustus for basketball; Ogonna Nnamani for volleyball; Kelly Dostal for field hockey; Leslie Osborne for soccer; Kim Smith for cross-country; Kirsty Coventry for swimming; and Kristen Maloney for gymnastics. Athletes voted the most outstanding in softball, tennis and track & field will be named in the coming month. The Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year will be determined by separate balloting involving all NCAA-member institutions and the winner will receive the Honda-Broderick Cup in New York on June 29, 2005.

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. sponsors the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program.

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