Over the years, the names John Heisman and Hobey Baker have become household names in the landscape of college athletics. This year, however, four athletes are looking to put another name back on the UW radar: Patty Kazmaier.
Senior forward Erika Lawler, junior forward Meghan Duggan, sophomore forward Hilary Knight and senior goaltender Jessie Vetter are among 43 nominees for the 2009 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, which is given annually to the most outstanding player in Division I women's hockey.
The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is named in honor of Patty Kazmaier-Sandt, a former standout at Princeton University. Kazmaier-Sandt was a three-sport athlete and a four-year letter winner in hockey at Princeton before her death in 1990 at 28.
This is not the first time a UW athlete has been under consideration for the award. Former Wisconsin forward and all-time points leader Sara Bauer took the trophy home in 2006 after netting 22 goals and 36 assists in 39 games.
Bauer upped those numbers in 2007 and nearly won the award again before being ousted by Harvard's Julie Chu.
Even more than the stats she put up, this year's nominees remember the way Bauer managed to take the award in stride.
If anyone knows Bauer, you know that she didn't really talk about it,"" Duggan said. ""Obviously, she was honored to [win the award], but I think she was more honored to win a national championship with the team.""
It is clear that, especially for those who saw Bauer win the Kazmaier, her attitude about the award has rubbed off.
""I don't know how much awards and stuff like that can dictate how great a team is,"" Duggan said. ""One player doesn't make up an entire team.""
While individual awards do not always lead to a team's success, having four nominees in a single year speaks volumes about the state of women's hockey at the University of Wisconsin.
""I'm really proud that all four of us get to represent the team,"" Lawler said. ""We have such a great team behind us, and all of us are very well
supported by our teammates. [We]
definitely couldn't have been nominated if it weren't for the squad that we have behind us.""
A team-first mentality keeps the Badgers focused despite all the accolades. Many of the players are quick to point out that while programs like Harvard have a handful of Kazmaier award-winners, no team outside of the WCHA has ever won an official NCAA title.
""It's more important that we focus on what the team's doing right now,"" Lawler said. ""You're never going to win a championship if you're just thinking about your individual achievements.""
With the WCHA playoffs kicking off this weekend, winning on the ice is undoubtedly everyone's first priority.
""If you want to go for those awards, that's one thing,"" Lawler said, ""but I think what's most important right now is a national championship. The only way you're going to do that is with a team behind you.""
Though all four insist there is no competition among them, Vetter acknowledged that all of Wisconsin's Kazmaier nominees will have a hard time living up to at least one aspect of Bauer's legacy.
""If one of us were to win, I don't think any of us would give as good a speech as Bauer did,"" she said.
