Northwestern University Athletics
Kristen Kjellman Earns Honda Award For Lacrosse
6/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
June 1, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern lacrosse standout Kristen Kjellman, a sophomore, has been voted the nation's most outstanding athlete in her sport, 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, Kjellman will receive the prestigious Honda Award, given annually to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports. With this award, she also receives 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.
Lacrosse nominees were selected by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA). Kjellman is the first Northwestern woman to receive the Honda Award in lacrosse, and just the third overall -- Jennifer Averill in 1986 and Gretchen Scheuermann in 1994, both in field hockey.
Kjellman -- who also was one of five finalists for the Tewaaraton Trophy, college lacrosse's version of the Heisman Trophy -- led NU 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. Despite missing essentially two games this season, she completed the campaign with a team-leading 59 goals, 32 assists and 91 points. Kjellman was ranked third nationally with 4.94 points per game, and was also ranked nationally in goals per game, assists per game, and draw controls per game.
The other nominees in the lacrosse category were: Amy Appelt from the University of Virginia, Katie Chrest from Duke University, and Katieanne Christian from Dartmouth College. Those three, plus Kjellman and Lindsey Biles from Princeton, comprised the finalist list for the Tewaaraton Trophy.
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; Kristen Maloney for gymnastics; and Anna Grzebien for golf. Athletes voted the most outstanding in softball, tennis, and track & field will be named in the coming month.
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. sponsors the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program.
