Tasha Rodgers of Washington University in St. Louis, whose career-high 36 points and 13 rebounds in the title game helped lead her team to a record-tying fourth straight NCAA Division III basketball championship, has been named winner of the Honda Award as the NCAA Division III Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year, following national balloting among NCAA-member schools.
As the Div. III Honda Award winner, Rodgers a senior forward from East St. Louis, Ill. (Illinois Math and Science Academy), shot .593 from the floor to lead her team in scoring with 606 points (averaging 20.2 points per game) and added 234 rebounds (7.3 per game) to pace the Bears 28-2 record for the season. She was her team's leading scorer in 21 games, and the leading rebounder in 18 games. She also contributed a team-high and school-record 123 steals. Rodgers was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Division III Final Four and to the all-tournament team.
Rodgers is the second consecutive Washington University basketball player to win the Division III Honda Award (following 1999-2000 recipient, Alia Fischer) and the fourth overall, including volleyball players Amy Albers (1994-95) and Shelley Swan (1995-96).
Rodgers will receive her Honda Award at the 25th Annual Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year Banquet, June 11 at Salt Lake City, Utah, site of the 2001 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Convention. In addition to honoring the collegiate women athletes of the year among Division II and Division III schools, the Honda Award is presented annually to the most outstanding college women athletes in 12 sports, who are also candidates to receive the Honda-Broderick Cup as 2000-01 Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. The winner will be determined by separate balloting of all NCAA-member institutions. Last year's Cup winner was Columbia University swimmer Cristina Teuscher.
Honda-Broderick Cup finalists for 2000-01 are: Jen Adams (lacrosse) of Maryland, Mohini Bhardwaj (gymnastics) of UCLA, Greichaly Cepero (volleyball) of Nebraska, Marina DiGiacomo (field hockey) of Old Dominion, Jennie Finch (softball) of Arizona, Meredith Florance (soccer) of North Carolina, Laura Granville (tennis) of Stanford, Kara Grgas-Wheeler (cross country) of Colorado, Candy Hannemann (golf) of Duke, Misty Hyman (swimming and diving) of Stanford, Jackie Stiles (basketball) of Southwest Missouri State and Brenda Taylor (track & field) of Harvard. All Honda Award winners are automatically nominated for Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year honors.
The Division II Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year, swimmer Jessica Martin of Truman State University (Kirksville, Mo.), will also be honored with a Honda Award at the banquet. The Honda Inspiration Award, honoring the collegiate woman athlete who has overcome great physical adversity to contribute to the recognizable success of her team, will be presented to swimmer Kendra Berner of Davidson (N.C.) College, who despite a congenital deformation of her right hand, swam her team's fastest time this season and the second-fastest in school history (24.86) for the 50 freestyle at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships.
The awards program is sponsored by American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
