UW's Danielle Lawrie earns Honda award in softball

Washington junior pitcher Danielle Lawrie added to her postseason awards Tuesday, winning the Honda Sports Award in softball, designating her as the nation's top collegiate female athlete in that sport.

The honor was based on the results of national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program, now in its 33rd year.

Lawrie, who pitched the Huskies to the NCAA championship last week, also was named the national player of the year recently for that sport.

The Honda Sports Award is given annually to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports, along with automatic nomination for Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year.

Lawrie, who pitched for the Canadian Olympic team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, earned the award over three other nominees: Stacey Nelson, Florida senior; Kaitlin Cochran, Arizona State senior; and Tammy Williams, Northwestern senior. The nominees were selected by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

"It is a huge honor for me to win the Honda Award for softball especially after so many great Huskies before me have been nominated," Lawrie said in a news release. "To be the first is a great feeling but I have to thank my teammates and coaches because without them this award would not be possible.

"Just looking at the names of those who won before, they are great athletes and role models but they also played on great teams and winning a national championship was the greatest feeling I have had in my athletic career. Still, it is flattering to be recognized with individual awards and the Honda Award is certainly one of the most prestigious."

The native of Langley, B.C., redshirted the 2008 college season while competing for the Canadian National Team at the Olympic Games in Beijing, where they finished fourth. The 5-foot-7 right-hander led the nation in strikeouts (521) and wins (42), was third in shutouts (21) and sixth in earned-run average (0.97). She pitched two no-hitters and in the postseason had 24 strikeouts in a 15-inning regional final. She also struck out 12 batters and hit two home runs in the deciding Super Regional win over Georgia Tech and hit a grand slam in the semifinal of the Women's College World Series to send her Huskies to the championship series, where she led the team in a two-game sweep over Florida. Washington earned its first softball championship.

Overall in the Series, she threw all 44-2/3 innings with 49 strikeouts, 13 walks, two shutouts and was 4 for 18 with a home run, five RBI, five walks and one grand slam.

Previously announced Honda Sports Award recipients are Duke's Mallory Cecil for tennis, Purdue's Maria Hernandez for golf, Northwestern University's Hannah Nielsen for lacrosse, the Connecticut's Renee Montgomery for basketball, Georgia's Courtney Kupets for gymnastics, Texas Tech's Sally Kipyego for cross country, Maryland's Susie Rowe for field hockey, North Carolina's Casey Nogueira for soccer, Penn State's Nicole Fawcett for volleyball and California's Dana Vollmer for swimming and diving.

The Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year will be determined by separate balloting involving all NCAA institutions. The winner will receive the Honda-Broderick Cup at a ceremony in New York on June 22.