Holdsclaw Is Named Top Women’s College Athlete

MARCO ISLAND, Fla. —  Chamique Holdsclaw, the most valuable player on Tennessee’s national champion women’s basketball team last March and a key member of the recent U.S. women’s team that won the world championship, was named winner of the 22nd annual Honda-Broderick Cup on Sunday night.

The cup is presented to the top women’s collegiate athlete in the nation. The winner is selected by a national board from a field of 11 candidates from 11 sports.

After years of holding the event during the NCAA convention in January, the Honda board, citing the uncertainty of future NCAA conventions, moved the dinner to coincide with the National Assn. of Collegiate Athletic Directors convention in session here.

Holdsclaw, a junior from Astoria, N.Y., led the Southeastern Conference in steals with 110 and became the first Lady Vols’ player to reach the 2,000-point and 1,000-rebound category. She played guard, center and forward and averaged 23.5 points per game.

Tennessee’s national title was its third in a row.

Others honored Sunday night for their national standing in their respective sports were:

Gymnast Kim Arnold of Georgia, golfer Kellee Booth of Arizona State, tennis player Marissa Catlin of Georgia, softball player Nancy Evans of Arizona, volleyball player Kristin Folkl of Stanford, swimmer Misty Hyman of Stanford, track and field athlete Amy Skieresz of Arizona, cross-country runner Carrie Tollefson of Villanova, field hockey player Cindy Werley of North Carolina and soccer player Sara Whalen of Connecticut.

Booth, Evans and Skieresz are from Southern California. Booth competed at Santa Margarita High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, Evans at Glendale Hoover High and Skieresz at Agoura High.

In addition to those honors, NCAA Division II was represented by softball player Danielle Penner of California University of Pennsylvania and Division III by track and field athlete Tiffany Ebensperger of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

This year’s Inspiration Award went to Heidi Anderson of Bentley College and Jamul, Ca., who came back from a battle against leukemia to play intercollegiate volleyball.