COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland field hockey's Paula Infante is one of five finalists for the prestigious Honda-Broderick Cup, given to the Collegiate Woman of the Year. Infante was chosen a top-five candidate after a nation-wide balloting of Senior Women's Administrators at NCAA-member schools.

The American Honda Motor Co., Inc., which has been a sponsor of the award or over 20 years, will donate $1,000 to the women's athletic fund at Maryland.

Paula Infante (Santiago, Chile) capped her career at Maryland winning back-to-back NCAA titles and earning first team All-America honors for the fourth time, the first player in the program to garner first-team nods four-straight years. She is also the first Terrapin in the program to receive the Honda Award twice and only the second athlete at Maryland.

Infante led the Terrapins to four-straight NCAA semifinal appearances and became the only player to earn NCAA All-Tournament honors four times. She is a four-time All-ACC honoree and was voted the conference's Defensive Player of the Year her final two seasons. During her junior campaign, she helped the Terps claim the 2005 conference crown. She is tied for eighth all-time at Maryland with 58 career goals and is seventh with 174 career points. In 2004, Infante found her way into the NCAA record books when she scored a tournament-record five goals and tallied 10 points in the Terps' first-round game versus Delaware.

The midfield-defender, who was in the top two in goals scored on the team every season, excelled in the classroom, as well. Majoring in physical education and kinesiology, Infante was named to the Academic All-ACC team in 2006 and was an ACC Honor Roll honoree twice. She was one of 45 student-athletes in the ACC to receive the conference's Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship.

The other four finalists are Candace Parker (women's basketball) and Monica Abbott (softball) from Tennessee, Heather O'Reilly from North Carolina (soccer) and Sarah Pavan (volleyball) from Nebraska.

The Honda Award is presented to the nation's most outstanding female athlete in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports by a panel of more than 1,000 NCAA administrators. Three other athletes are honored as the Division II Athlete of the Year, DIII Athlete of the Year and the Inspiration Award winner.

Of the 15 award winners, five are selected finalists for the Honda-Broderick Cup, which will be announced in a press conference in New York City on June 25. Past winners of the Cup include Nancy Lieberman (basketball), Cheryl Miller (basketball), Jackie Joyner (track & field), Lisa Fernandez (softball) and Mia Hamm (soccer).

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