Stanford athletes head list for award

The 14th annual Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year banquet takes place Wednesday, Jan. 9, in Nashville, Tenn., and is highlighted by the presentation of the Honda-Broderick Cup to the nation’s top female collegiate athlete.

Three of the 11 candidates are from Stanford University with two each from the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of North Carolina.

Stanford nominees are senior basketball player Jennifer Azzi, the NCAA national championship’s Most Valuable Player and a repeat All-American; swimmer Janet Evans, the NCAA Swimmer of the Year, winner of three NCAA titles, and the Sullivan Award winner; and tennis player Debbie Graham, collegiate singles champion who set a NCAA record with 52 straight wins.

Candidates from UCLA are senior gymnast Jill Andrews, the country’s top vaulter and all-around competitor, and NCAA softball champion pitcher Lisa Longaker, a 20-game winner with a 17-game win streak and one perfect game.

North Carolina’s candidates are soccer player Shannon Higgins, whose Tar Heels have posted a 95-0 record during her career and who scored the winning goal in the NCAA championship, and NCAA national champion field hockey captain Leslie Lyness.

The remaining candidates are Long Beach State’s NCAA national champion volleyball player Tara Cross, an outside hitter who set an NCAA career record with 2,767 career kills; Wisconsin track and field star Suzy Favor, the NCAA outdoor champion in both the 800 and 1,500 meters and a three-time Big Ten and Jesse Owens Female Athlete of the Year winner; Texas golfer Michiko Hattori, a three-time All-American who finished in the top 10 in 10 events and averaged 75.74 strokes; and Villanova cross country runner Vicki Huber, last year’s Honda-Broderick Cup winner who set a meet-record time in leading her team to the NCAA title. –

While classes resumed on the Colby College campus in Waterville on Wednesday, women’s basketball coach Gene DeLorenzo had his charges back on court Monday in preparation for a weekend tournament in the nation’s capital.

This is the second time since 1987 Colby has competed in this event hosted by Marymount University of Arlington, Va. Four years ago, Colby traveled down in a raging snowstorm and finished 1-1.

Leaving Waterville on Friday, the White Mules are taking a 1-4 record into a tournament with three strong teams that each won 19 or more games last year: Marymount, 5-3; Buffalo State, 4-2; and Franklin & Marshall, 8-0.

Colby opens the tournament against Buffalo State on Saturday at 5 p.m. The consolation game is set for 10 a.m. Sunday and the championship at noon.

After double sessions Monday and Tuesday, the team had single practices Wednesday and Thursday and will have a shooting practice Friday.

The White Mules hope to have a good showing since they tend to play better against stronger teams. Plus, 6-foot junior reserve Heather Belanger of Caribou returns from a semester studying in Australia.

Kim Derrington leads the Mules with 12.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, followed by Liz Cimino, who’s hitting 71 percent from the line and averaging 12.4 points and 10.4 rebounds. Shooting guard Maria Kim leads the team in steals with 14. –

Julie Roche, a senior forward on the Bates College of Lewiston women’s basketball team, is among the national statistical leaders in two categories.

The senior forward is sixth among Division III players in free-throw percentage with .891 percent and her 21.6 points per game makes her 14th nationally.

Roche was also recently named the New England Division III Volleyball Player of the Year.