Paula Heuser from the University at Albany, University of Maryland’s Welma Luus, Greta Nauck of the University of Delaware and Charlotte Veitner from the University of Connecticut are the four nominees for the Honda Sport Award for Field Hockey as announced by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) today.

The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 41 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics”.  The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2017 Honda Cup which will be presented on a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on Monday, June 26, 2017, in downtown Los, Angeles.

The nominees were chosen by a panel of coaches representing the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA). The Honda Sport award winner for field hockey will be announced next week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.

Heuser, a senior from Monchengladbach, Germany, was the 2014 Honda Sport Award winner for field hockey. She is a three-time NFHCA first-team All-American and the program’s first-ever four-time All-American. She is the active NCAA leader in career points (240) and led UAlbany with 47 points this season en route to her fourth America East Midfielder of the Year honor.

Luus, a team co-captain, was named the 2016 Big Ten Player of the Year and a 2016 NFHCA first-team All-American. A graduate student from Pretoria South Africa, she is also a first-team All-Big Ten honoree and a two-time NFHCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region first-team member. She led the Terps with 15 goals and added eight assists.

A sophomore hailing from Krefeld, Germany, Nauck scored two goals, including the game-winner, to lead Delaware to its first-ever field hockey National Championship. She is a NFHCA first-team All-American and the 2016 CAA Player of the Year. She led the nation in goals (33), points (76), goals per game (1.32) and points per game (3.04). She ranks seventh all-time at UD with 103 career goals in two seasons.

Veitner, a junior from Dusseldorf, Germany, is a two-time NFHCA first-team All-American and the two-time Big East Offensive Player of the Year. Also the 2016 All-Mideast Region Player of the Year, she was second in the nation in goals (27), points (71) and points per game (2.96) while setting UConn program records in all-time points and all-time assists. She scored a single-game program record six goals versus Virginia (9/18).

Honda Sport award winners will be presented with the honor during on-campus presentations throughout the year and all Honda Sport award winners become a finalist for the prestigious 2017 Honda Cup award presented in June.

THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for 41 years, recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service.  Since commencing its sponsorship in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.1 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs at the institutions.