O'Donnell Named ACC's Top Female Athlete
7/28/2011 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
July 28, 2011
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GREENSBORO, N.C. - Maryland field hockey standout Katie O'Donnell is the recipient of the Mary Garber Award, given to the Atlantic Coast Conference's Female Athlete of the Year. She received 28 of the 43 votes cast by the members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.
She becomes the third field hockey player to win the Garber, joining Wake Forest's Kelly Dostal (2005) and Paula Infante of Maryland (2006). Other Terrapins with Garber plaques are Jen Adams (2000, 01) and Sarah Forbes (2007), both of whom played lacrosse, and Kelly Amonte, a lacrosse and soccer star.
O'Donnell received the 2009 and 2010 Honda Sports Awards, the honor given to the nation's top field hockey player. She is the only player in NCAA field hockey history distinguished as both a four-time first-team All-American and four-time ACC Offensive Player of the Year.
In the 2010 season, O'Donnell sparked the Terrapins to the NCAA and ACC titles, a 23-1 overall record and a No. 1 national ranking in the final NFHCA Top 20 poll. She is the ACC's career points and assists leader and leaves Maryland with 99 total college career goals, just three goals shy of the ACC's all-time goal record. At the NCAA Tournament, she became the first player in history to record her second hat trick in a national semifinal game.
A native of Blue Bell, Pa., she was named the NFHCA Division I National Player of the Year and was also named National Player of the Year and Offensive MVP by womensfieldhockey.com for the third consecutive year. In September 2010, O'Donnell was named the Women's Sports Foundation's Sportswoman of the Year, an award previously won by Mia Hamm and Lisa Leslie.
O'Donnell led the nation in points (98) and assists (34) this year, making her the first player in NCAA history to break the 100 career assist and the 300 career point marks.
In her career, she guided Maryland to two NCAA titles (2008, 2010) and three ACC titles (2008, 2009, 2010). She was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team three times (2008, 2009, 2010). O'Donnell was voted the ACC Tournament MVP in 2009 and 2010 and was named to the ACC All-Tournament team in all four years of her career.
"I am so honored to receive this award because there are so many talented female athletes in the ACC. This is the best conference in the country and to receive the Garber Award is truly a highlight to my career," O'Donnell said. "Thank you to my coaches, teammates, family, competitors and all of the field hockey supporters for making ACC field hockey the best. I will continue to work hard to represent the great program of Maryland field hockey and the ACC in the 2012 Olympics."
She is currently a starter for the National Team, which is training in Chula Vista, Calif. for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. At the age of 2005, she became the youngest person to represent the U.S. senior national team, and she has played in 25 such games in major competitions since.
"This is a well-deserved honor for Katie and the University of Maryland. Katie's competitive drive and personal determination has become a marker for Maryland field hockey while taking the ACC to another competitive level," head coach Missy Meharg said. "Her deep passion and extraordinary will to win places her among the greatest female athletes in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Maryland Athletics sends a huge congratulations to Katie, as she and Team USA train full-time for the 2012 Olympic Games in London."
The Mary Garber Award is named for the former Winston-Salem Journal reporter and a pioneer for women in the field of sports journalism. That award was established in 1990 to honor the league's top female athlete. Florida State track and field student-athlete Ngoni Makusha won the McKevlin Award, which is given to the conference's top male athlete.
