ACC Represented With 10 Finalists From Highly Ranked Duke, Maryland and
North Carolina Programs
ATLANTA, March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and the Atlanta
Tipoff Club today announced that thirty of the country's top collegiate
women's basketball players were named as midseason candidates for the
Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T. The Naismith Trophy is the most
prestigious national award presented annually to the men's and women's
college basketball players of the year.
The "Top 30" women's list, led by Maryland (5), North Carolina (3) and
Duke (2), was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors,
which comprises leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators
from around the country. The board based its criteria on player
performances this season, and the list was narrowed down from the preseason
list of 50 candidates who were announced at the beginning of the season.
"As competitive as the landscape is today in women's college
basketball, selecting 30 players was quite a task, and each one of those
women has a legitimate shot of winning the Women's Naismith Trophy
presented by AT&T," said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Tipoff Club president.
Again this year, AT&T will give fans an unprecedented voice in
selecting the winner. Fan-voting, through the power and ease of
text-messaging, will account for 25 percent of the selection process. This
program sets the standard in college athletics for integrating fans into
the voting process and for providing them with more input than with any
other major collegiate sports award.
"AT&T is excited to empower the fans in the process of determining the
winner of the Naismith Trophy for the third straight year," said Marc
Lefar, chief marketing officer of AT&T's wireless unit. "The popularity of
women's basketball is at an all-time high, and these 30 women are all very
deserving candidates."
The four finalists for the Naismith Trophy will be announced on March
18 by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, and fans will be
eligible to cast their vote for the winner until March 31. The Women's
Naismith Trophy winner will be announced during the 2007 NCAA Final Four in
Cleveland.
AT&T is making the voting open to other wireless carriers, allowing
even more fans to participate. Other wireless carriers must opt in for
their subscribers to participate.
The midseason candidates for the Women's Naismith Trophy presented by
AT&T, listed in alphabetical order, are as follows:
2006 - 2007 Top 30 Women's Naismith Trophy Midseason Candidates
Player Class Pos. School
Matee Ajavon Jr. G Rutgers
Alison Bales Sr. C Duke
Essense Carson Jr. G/F Rutgers
Cori Chambers Sr. G Georgia
Marissa Coleman So. G/F Maryland
Jazz Covington Sr. C Louisville
Jessica Davenport Sr. C Ohio State
Dee Davis Sr. G Vanderbilt
Jessica Dickson Sr. F South Florida
Shay Doron Sr. G Maryland
Sylvia Fowles Jr. C LSU
Katie Gearlds Sr. G Purdue
Chrissy Givens Sr. G Middle Tennessee
Lindsey Harding Sr. G Duke
Laura Harper Jr. F/C Maryland
Alexis Hornbuckle Jr. G Tennessee
Charde Houston Jr. F UConn
Tasha Humphrey Jr. F Georgia
Tiffany Jackson Sr. F Texas
Crystal Langhorne Jr. C/F Maryland
Erlana Larkins Jr. F North Carolina
Ivory Latta Sr. G North Carolina
Camille Little Sr. G/F North Carolina
Courtney Paris So. C Oklahoma
Candace Parker So. F/G/C Tennessee
Armintie Price Sr. G Ole Miss
Noelle Quinn Sr. G UCLA
Brooke Smith Sr. F/C Stanford
Kristi Toliver So. G Maryland
Candice Wiggins Jr. G Stanford
Last year's Naismith Trophy recipient was repeat-winner Seimone
Augustus from LSU, who also claimed the award in 2005, one of only six
multiple winners. The others were Cheryl Miller (USC, 1984, 1985, 1986);
Clarissa Davis (Texas, 1987, 1989); Dawn Staley (Virginia, 1991, 1992);
Chamique Holdsclaw (Tennessee, 1988, 1989); and Diana Taurasi (Connecticut,
2003, 2004). For more information, visit http://www.naismithawards.com.
Note: This AT&T release and other news announcements are available as
part of an RSS feed at http://www.att.com/rss.
ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB
The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is
committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the
outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The
Atlanta Tipoff Club has presented the Naismith Trophy since UCLA's Lew
Alcindor first won the award in 1969. Old Dominion's Anne Donovan won the
inaugural Women's Naismith Trophy in 1983.
The Naismith Awards program has become an emblem of excellence for the
game, recognizing the Men's and Women's College Player of the Year, Men's
and Women's Coach of the Year, as well as awards for outstanding
achievement in high school basketball, officiating, and overall
contribution to the game.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. is a premier communications holding company in the United
States and around the world, with operating subsidiaries providing services
under the AT&T brand. AT&T is the recognized world leader in providing
IP-based communications services to businesses and the U.S. leader in
providing wireless, high speed Internet access, local and long distance
voice, and directory publishing and advertising through its Yellow Pages
and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations. As part of its three-screen integration
strategy, AT&T is expanding video entertainment offerings to include such
next-generation television services as AT&T U-verse(SM) TV. Additional
information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T
subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com.
AT&T is a registered trademark of AT&T Knowledge Ventures. Subsidiaries
and affiliates of AT&T Inc. provide products and services under the AT&T
brand. For more information, please review this announcement in the AT&T
newsroom at http://www.att.com/newsroom.
SOURCE Cingular Wireless, now part of the new AT&T
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Related links:
http://www.cingular.com
http://www.att.com http://www.naismithawards.com
CONTACT:
Matt Garvey, of Atlanta Sports Council,
+1-404-586-8496; or Clay Owen, of Cingular, now AT&T,
+1-404-236-6153, clay.owen@cingular.com
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