Lobo Named Top Female Collegiate Athlete

Star basketball player Rebecca Lobo, who led undefeated University of Connecticut to last year’s NCAA basketball title, has been named winner of the 1994-95 Honda-Broderick Cup as the nation’s top female collegiate athlete.

Lobo’s award was made public at Monday night’s Honda Awards program, before a dinner crowd of 1,300 at the site of the annual NCAA convention.

Lobo, who was among the nominees who didn’t make it to the dinner because of the severe weather problems in the East, averaged 17.1 points a game, 9.8 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots in a season in which she was named the most valuable player in the Final Four.

She was chosen from a field of nominees that included Jennifer Brundage of UCLA in softball, Laura Davis of Ohio State in volleyball, Diane Guthrie-Gresham of George Mason in track, Jenny Hansen of Kentucky in gymnastics, Keri Phebus of UCLA in tennis, Jennifer Rhines of Villanova in cross country, Gretchen Scheuermann of Northwestern in field hockey, Jenny Thompson of Stanford in swimming, Tisha Venturini of North Carolina in soccer and Wendy Ward of Arizona State in golf.

Also honored at the dinner were golfer Charlaine Coetzee of Longwood College in Charleston S.C., as the Division II winner; volleyball player Amy Albers of Washington University as Division III winner, and softball player Alyssa Johnson of Arizona State, who returned to collegiate competition after the removal of a brain tumor, as the inspiration winner.