June 21, 2012

Stanford Athletics on Facebook

STANFORD, Calif. - Voting for the Stanford Fan Choice Awards continues Thursday on the Stanford Athletics on Facebook page, as the Female Athlete of the Year nominees are released.

Fans can also continue to vote for their choices of Performance of the Year, Game of the Year and Newcomer of the Year.

The Female Athlete of the Year nominees, in alphabetical order, are:

Nicole Gibbs - Women's Tennis
Only a sophomore, Nicole Gibbs took over the No. 1 singles spot for the Cardinal in 2011-12, and by the end of the season the nation knew why.

This year's Honda Sports Award recipient for women's tennis, Gibbs became only the third player in NCAA history to capture both the national singles and doubles titles in the same season. Tabbed the Pac-12 Player of the Year, Gibbs finished the season 41-5 overall and 21-2 in duals, playing all her matches at the No. 1 spot. She won 17 straight matches to end the year, and pocketed two other singles titles, winning the ITA Northwest Regional Championships and Pac-12 Championships.

In doubles, she teamed with Mallory Burdette to capture the NCAA title, and the team was named the 2012 Campbell/ITA National Women's Doubles Team of the Year, with Gibbs also earning the Player of the Year honor.

Kiley Neushul - Women's Water Polo
Neushul wasted no time making her presence known for the Cardinal in 2011-12, leading the team with 58 goals en route to a second straight national title and third overall. At the National Collegiate Championship in San Diego in mid-May, Neushul scored three goals, including a goal in the Cardinal's 6-4 title-game win over USC.

The freshman driver recorded 11 hat tricks and 17 multi-goal games as the Cardinal went 26-2 overall, including a perfect 7-0 record in MPSF regular-season play.

In early June, Neushul became Stanford's fourth winner of the Peter J. Cutino Award, given annually to both the top collegiate men's and women's water polo players. Her performance on the year also led to her being named MPSF Newcomer of the Year as well as to the All-MPSF First Team and All-Newcomer Team. Additionally, she earned one KAP 7 MPSF Player of the Week honor (April 16) in addition to being a four-time KAP 7 MPSF Newcomer of the Week (Jan. 30, Feb. 27, March 12, April 23).

Teresa Noyola - Women's Soccer
In her final year on The Farm, Teresa Noyola and the Cardinal finally got over the hump, winning the final game of the College Cup to capture the program's NCAA title with a 1-0 win over Duke.

It capped an incredible year for Noyola, who scored nine goals with 15 assists in 2011. The Hermann Trophy and Honda Award winner as national player of the year, Noyola also earned the NSCAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year, College Cup Offensive MVP, Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and her third NSCAA first-team All-America honor.

She highlighted a Stanford senior class that went 95-4-4 over its four years, including 53-0-1 at home, and reached the NCAA College Cup four times, reaching three consecutive finals.

Nnemkadi Ogwumike - Women's Basketball
One of the greatest players to wear the Stanford uniform, Nnemkadi Ogwumike spun, pivoted and drove her way to a record-breaking year in 2011-12.

In leading the Cardinal to a 35-2 record, a 12th straight Pac-12 title and fifth straight Final Four appearance, she averaged a school-record 22.5 points with 10.2 rebounds a game, becoming one of just five Stanford players to average a double-double for the season. Ogwumike scored a school-record 809 points on the year, and became one of just four Stanford players to accumulate both 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds during her career.

She ranks in Stanford's career top-five in field goals made (965 - first) and attempted (1,656 - second), points scored (2,491 - second), field-goal percentage (58.3 - second), rebounds (1,226 - third), scoring average (17.2 ppg - fourth), rebounding average (8.5 rpg - fourth) and free throws made (555 - second) and attempted (718 - first).

Ogwumike, a consensus national player of the year candidate, earned a boatload of honors for her performance, becoming only the third three-time WBCA All-American in school history. She also earned All-America honors from the Associated Press, USBWA and John R. Wooden Award. She was named the 2012 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award winner and captured her second Pac-12 Player of the Year honor and was named MVP of the Pac-12 Tournament and Fresno Regional.

Lindsay Taylor - Women's Soccer
Lindsay Taylor was another of the Stanford seniors who helped the squad earn that coveted first NCAA title at the College Cup in 2011.

Taylor was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy, and although she didn't claim the prize, she earned plenty enough for her fantastic season. Taylor was named Soccer America's National Player of the Year, in addition to capturing the Pac-12 Player of the Year award after leading the Pac-12 in scoring (20 goals, seven assists, 47 points).

When it came down to it, Taylor was at her best, scoring 12 times over Stanford's final 13 matches.