Kerri Hanks ran away to a record-setting season in 2006 that saw her join former UNC great Mia Hamm as the only players to finish a season as the nation's leader in both goals (22) and assists (22). (photo by Marcus Snowden)

Kerri Hanks One Of Five ESPY Finalists For Best Female College Athlete

June 26, 2007

Vote for Kerri Hanks
2007 ESPY Finalist – Best Female College Athlete (note: scroll down on thin blue bar on right side of the ESPY voting page to select “Best Female College Athlete”).

Notre Dame women’s soccer player Kerri Hanks (Allen, Texas) has been named one of five finalists for “best female college athlete” (for the 2005-06 academic year) in the ESPN-sponsored ESPY Awards program. The winners are determined by online voting at ESPN.com (a direct link also will be posted at und.com and added to this release). Voting will run from June 25 to July 7, with the ESPY’s to be taped in Hollywood on July 11 before airing on ESPN the night of July 15 (9:00 p.m. EDT). Hanks is expected to attend the ceremony along with the other noteworthy nominees for the various ESPY Awards. This marks the second time in the past three years that a Notre Dame women’s soccer player has been nominated for this honor, as former Irish forward Katie Thorlakson was a finalist for the top female college athlete ESPY in 2004-05.

Hanks – who will enter her junior season in the fall of 2007 – became the youngest player by class year (male or female) ever to receive the prestigious M.A.C. Hermann Trophy, after a nearly unprecedented season in 2006 that saw her lead the nation in both goals (22) and assists (22). She became one of only 11 Division I women’s soccer players ever to reach 20 goals and 20 assists in the same season while joining former North Carolina great Mia Hamm as the only players ever to finish a season as the nation’s leader in goals and assists.

1209101.jpeg

Kerri Hanks already has amassed 46 Notre Dame scoring records, including the most points ever by an Irish player during one NCAA Tournament (16/4G-8A, in 2006).

spacer.gif

spacer.gif

With 50 career goals, 37 assists and 137 points, Hanks already has established herself as one of the top scorers in the 25-year history of Division I women’s soccer. Late 1980s SMU player Lisa Cole (147) and early 1980s UC Santa Barbara standout Carin Jennings (147) and are the only Division I players ever to total more points over the course of their freshman and sophomores seasons, with Hanks owning the top freshman/sophomore point total in the past 18 seasons. She ended the 2006 season with a 13-game point streak and already owns or shares an assortment of 46 different Notre Dame women’s soccer scoring records, including the most points ever by an Irish player in one NCAA Tournament (16; 4G-8A, in 2006).

Currently part of the player pool for the United States Under-23 National Team, Hanks was a consensus first team All-American during the 2006 season while being named the BIG EAST Conference offensive player of the year and taking home offensive MVP honors from the 2006 BIG EAST Championship (after helping the Irish win their ninth BIG EAST title in the past 12 years). She led the way for a record-setting 2006 team that outscored its opponents 85-11 and held the nation’s No. 1 ranking for most of the season, ultimately finishing 25-1-1 with the only loss coming in the national championship game versus co-No. 1 North Carolina. The 2006 title game marked the first time in Division I women’s soccer history that both teams entered the final game with 25 or more wins for the season.

Other notes on Hanks follow below. Also check back shortly to this place in the release for the direct link to where Notre Dame fans can cast their ESPY votes for Hanks:

SELECT COMPANY – Hanks joined a select group of former Notre Dame student-athletes who have been honored as the nation’s best in their respective sports, joining the likes of seven former Heisman Trophy winners from the Irish football teams (among them Angelo Bertelli, Johnny Lujack, Paul Hornung and Tim Brown) star men’s basketball player Austin Carr – the only Notre Dame hoopster ever to win national player-of-the-year honors from the AP or UPI (both in 1971) – and women’s basketball standout Ruth Riley (who helped lead the Irish to the 2001 NCAA title) … a total of 47 Notre Dame student-athletes have received a major national player-of-the-year award or placed first in NCAA individual competition (for their respective events or weapons), with those 47 combining for 55 total player-of-the-year/NCAA champion seasons (four have been two-time champs and two others were rare three-time champions) … the 42 NCAA individual champions include 18 in men’s track & field, 12 in men’s fencing, 10 in women’s fencing and two in men’s cross country.

RARE REPEATERS – As just a sophomore in 2006, Kerri Hanks will have the chance in 2007 and 2008 to be a rare multiple-year national player of the year … that honor has been achieved by six previous Notre Dame student-athletes (once since the late 1980s and only twice in nearly 60 years): high jumper Johnny Murphy (1921 and ’22 NCAA champion); discus thrower Tom Lieb (1923 and ’24 NCAA champ); distance runner Greg Rice (NCAA two-mile champion in 1937 and ’39, plus NCAA cross country champion in 1938); men’s fencing sabreist Mike Sullivan (1977 and ’78 NCAA champion); and most recently women’s fencing foil standouts Molly Sullivan (1986 and ’88 NCAA champion); and Alicja Kryczalo (2002, ’03 and ’04 NCAA champ) … Rice and Kryczalo are the only three-time honorees on the above list.

757860.jpeg

Hanks follows Katie Thorlakson as the second Notre Dame women’s soccer player during the past three years who has been nominated for the best female college athlete ESPY.

spacer.gif

spacer.gif

MULTIPLE HONOREESKerri Hanks and Joe Lapira’s sweep of the M.A.C Hermann awards marks just the fourth time that Notre Dame student-athletes from different teams have been national player of the year/NCAA individual champion during the same academic year … Angelo Bertelli won the Heisman Trophy in the fall of 1943 before the following spring semester (1944) saw Frank Martin win the NCAA two-mile run while Phil Anderson was the NCAA pole-vault champion … Sullivan Award winner Greg Rice was the 1938 cross country champion before returning the next spring to win the NCAA two-mile race (1939) … the most impressive grouping of top national honorees came at the start of the current decade, as women’s soccer midfielder Anne Makinen received the 2000 Hermann Trophy and M.A.C. Award (in the fall), women’s basketball center Ruth Riley was national player of the year for the 2000-01 season, and distance runner Ryan Shay won the NCAA outdoor 10,000 meters … there have been six other years in which one Notre Dame team has produced multiple NCAA individual champions: 1921 track and field (high jumper Johnny Murphy and javelin thrower Eugene Obert); 1926 track and field (pole vaulter Paul Harrington and miler Charles Judge); 1977 men’s fencing (foilist Pat Gerard and sabreist Mike Sullivan); 1978 men’s fencing (Sullivan and epeeist Bjorn Vaggo); 2002 women’s fencing (epeeist Kerry Walton and foilist Alicja Kryczalo); and 2004 women’s fencing (Kryczalo and sabreist Valerie Providenza).

TOP FEMALE PERFORMERS – Notre Dame female student-athletes now have been national player of the year/NCAA champion a total of 14 times (by 11 individuals) … that group includes the three soccer players who have earned the Hermann and M.A.C. Awards (midfielders Cindy Daws, in ’96, and Anne Makinen, in 2000, and forward Kerri Hanks, in ’06), plus basketball player Ruth Riley (2000-01 season) and 10 in fencing: Molly Sullivan (foil, 1986 and ’88), Heidi Piper (foil, ’91), Magda Krol (epee, ’97), Kerry Walton (epee, ’02), Alicja Kryczalo (foil, ’02-’04), Valerie Providenza (sabre, ’04) and Mariel Zagunis (sabre, ’06)

A SCORER AND A SET-UP PLAYER – Hanks shared the 2006 national goalscoring lead (22, with Middle Tennessee’s Kala Morgan) while leading the nation in assists, with 22 … three previous ND players have led the team in goals and assists for the same season: midfielder Anne Makinen (14G-15A, as a senior in 2000); forward Amanda Guertin (11G-11A, as a junior in 2002); and forward Katie Thorlakson (23G-24A, as a junior in 2004).

746504.jpeg

Hanks closed the 2006 season by registering points (goals and/or assists) in each of the final 13 games.

spacer.gif

spacer.gif

RARE 20-20 VISION – With her expanded assist ability in 2006, combined with her longrunning ability as a goalscorer, Hanks became the 11th player in Division I women’s soccer history to reach 20 goals and 20 assists in the same season (22G-22A) … four ND players (most from any school) are members of that elite 20-20 club: midfielders Cindy Daws (26G-20A) and Jenny Streiffer (22G-22A, both in 1996) and forward Katie Thorlakson (23G-24A, in 2004) … the other D-I players who have reached 20G-20A in a season include UCSB’s Carin Jennings (20G-26A, in ’86), UNC’s Mia Hamm (32G-33A, ’92), Robin Confer (20G-22A, ’97) and Lindsay Tarpley (23G-27A, ’03), UConn’s Sara Whalen (21G-22A, ’97), UNC Greensboro’s Kati Katanen (24G-20A, ’97) and Santa Clara’s Mandy Clemens (24G-23A, ’99) … Hanks is one of six ever to reach 22G-22A in a season, as are Streiffer, Thorlakson, Hamm, Tarpley and Clemens … Hamm’s 1992 totals remain the only time in D-I history that a player has totaled more goals and more assists in a season than Thorlakson’s output.

30-30 MILESTONE – Hanks is one of four Division I players ever to reach 30 career goals and 30 assists prior to her junior season (50G-37A) … others include former ND standout Jenny Streiffer (42G-40A, from 1996-97) and former UNC players Tisha Venturini (45G-34A; 1991-92) and Lindsay Tarpley (39G-42A; 2002-03) … Hanks, Streiffer and Tarpley are the only D-I players ever to reach at least 36G-36A before their junior seasons.

TWO-MONTH TEAR – Hanks was on a roll since late September of the 2006 season, factoring into nearly 70% of her team’s goals over that span (37 of 56, with 16G-21A) … she totaled 53 points in that 18-game stretch (2.94 points per game).

FAST TWO-YEAR START – Only two players in Division I women’s soccer history have totaled more points over the course of their freshman and sophomores seasons than Hanks (137; 50G-37A) … former SMU player Lisa Cole has 147 points (60G-27A) during her first two seasons (1987-88) while UCSB legend Carin Jennings totaled 140 points spanning her freshman and sophomore seasons (60G-20A, 1983-84) … Hanks has more points as a freshman and sophomore than any D-I player in the past 18 years … she is the seventh D-I player to reach 50 goals before her junior season, with the others including: Jennings (60), Cole (60), BYU’s Shauna Rohbock (55; ’90-`91), Washington State’s Kim Lynass (55; ’90-`91), SMU’s Danielle Garrett (now Fotopoulos; 54; ’94-’95) and Campbell’s Jenn Stephenson (50; ’94-’95).

590193.jpeg

Hanks is on a four-year pace to become the seventh player in D-I history to reach 100 career goals.

spacer.gif

spacer.gif

ELITE FOUR-YEAR PACE – With her career average of 2.64 points per game, Hanks is on pace to rank among the top career scorers in women’s soccer history … there are only seven D-I players who have finished with a career scoring avg. above 2.70: Seton Hall’s Kelly Smith (3.41 career ppg), UCSB’s Carin Jennings (3.34), Portland’s Tiffeny Milbrett (3.32), SMU’s Lisa Cole (3.15), SMU/Florida player Danielle Garrett Fotopoulos (3.09), UNC’s Mia Hamm (3.02) and former North Texas player Marilyn Marin (2.71) … if Hanks matches her current career point total (137) in her final two seasons, the resulting 274 points would trail only Fotopoulos (284) and Hamm (278) … Hanks is averaging 0.96 goals per game for her career (50), which ranks 22nd in NCAA history … she is on pace to become the seventh D-I player to reach 100 career goals, with that exclusive 100-goal club including Fotopoulos (118), former Portand standout Christine Sinclair (110), Hamm (103), Milbrett (103), Jennings (102) and Cole (101).

SET-PLAY SUCCESS – Nearly 60% of Hanks’ 22 assists this season (13 of 22) came via corner-kick (8) or free-kick (5) services … she also has scored six career goals directly on dead-ball plays (four free kicks, two penalty kicks).

GOLDEN GIRL – The Irish are 32-0-0 during the past two seasons (2005-06) when Hanks scores a goal, as opposed to 14-4-1 when she fails to score.

46 ND RECORDS … AND COUNTING – Hanks already owns or shares an assortment of 46 Notre Dame scoring records … most notably, she has the best averages in ND history for career goals per game (0.96) and points per game (2.64), well on pace to break those marks shared by 1996-99 teammates Jenny Heft (0.83 gpg) and Jenny Streiffer (2.11 ppg) … some of the noteworthy ND records that Hanks set in 2006 included: points in one NCAA Tournament (16; 4G-8A); points by a sophomore (66); career goals in postseason play (15, shares with two others); quickest to 30 (26 games), 40 (40 GP) and 50 (49 GP) career goals; quickest goal in a season opener (1:19, vs. Iowa State); and quickest goal in a postseason game (0:57, vs. Rutgers) … she is the only ND player ever to post a hat trick (vs. Oakland, in 1st round) and a 3-assist game (vs. #8 Penn State, in quarterfinals) during NCAA Tournament play, with both of those games coming in 2006 … Hanks joined former teammate Katie Thorlakson as the only ND players to reach 60 points in multiple seasons (71 in ’05, 64 in ’06) and in 2006 joined Thorlakson as the only ND players ever to register six game-winning goals and six game-winning assists in the same season (Hanks is the only ND player with six GWGs in multiple seasons, both ’05 and `06) … Hanks also is the only ND player ever to total more than 20 goals in multiple seasons (28 in ’05, 22 in ’06) … she is the first ND player ever to register four career hat tricks prior to her junior season.

662601.jpeg

Hanks has points in 15 of the 16 postseason games during her career, with goals in 10 of those high-pressure games.

spacer.gif

spacer.gif

SIX-WEEK SCORING STREAK – The scoreless tie at Connecticut on Oct. 13 marked the only time in the final 18 games of the 2006 season that Hanks failed to register a point (starting with the 3-1 win over #6 West Virginia, totaling 16G-20A in that span) … her career-best, 1e-game point streak to end the 2002 season is second-best in ND history (one shy of Katie Thorlakson’s record) and includes 38 points (11G-16A; 2.9 ppg).

POSTSEASON POISE – Hanks has posted points in 16 of her 17 career postseason games with the Irish (spanning BIG EAST and NCAA tournament), all but the 2005 NCAA quarterfinal loss at eventual NCAA champion Portland … she has goals in 10 of those 17 postseason games and in 2006 set the ND record for most points in one NCAA Tournament (16; 4G-8A) … Katie Thorlakson (27) is the only ND player with more career points in one postseason than Hanks (25, in 2006; 7G-11A) … Hanks already ranks second in ND history for career postseason points (44; 15G-14A), now nine back of Thorlakson’s record (53), while her 25 career points in the NCAA Tournament (8G-9A) also are second in the ND record book, just four back of Thorlakson’s record (29) … Hanks in 2006 tied the ND record for points in an NCAA Tournament game (7), with 3G-1A in the NCAA opener vs. Oakland … in that game, she became the first ND player to score or assist on the team’s first four goals in an NCAA Tournament game.

RARE GOAL DROUGHTS – Hanks has gone without a goal in three straight games just twice in her ND career … she also has just three two-game goal droughts spanning her 52 career games with the Irish.

OTHER RECORD-BOOK NOTES – Hanks already ranks 10th on the Notre Dame list for career goals (50), just five back of Katie Thorlakson and Rosella Guerrero, while her 137 career points rank 11th in ND history (five behind Guerrero) … she is on a four-year pace (100G-72A; 272 points) to fly past the ND records for career goals (80, by Jenny Heft) and points (211, by Jenny Streiffer) and would finish third in assists, just one behind Thorlakson (Holly Manthei holds the ND and NCAA record with 129 career assists) … her 66 points in 2006 rank 5th on the ND list for single-season points (65), one year after totaling 71 points in 2005 (one shy of the ND record).

356164.jpeg

Hanks and former teammate Katie Thorlakson (#7) rank near the top of various Notre Dame record lists.

spacer.gif

spacer.gif

70-70 PACE – Hanks is on a four-year pace for a 100G-74A career that would make her the third Division I player ever to reach 70 career goals and 70 assists … others include former UNC great Mia Hamm (103-72A; 1989-90, ’92-`93) and ND standout Jenny Streiffer (70G-71A; 1996-99) … three other D-I players have reached 60G-60A: ND’s Cindy Daws (61G-67A; 1993-96), UCSB’s Carin Jennings (102G-60A; 1983-86) and Santa Clara’s Mandy Clemens (67G-65A; 1996-99).

786563.jpeg

Hanks (66) and Michele Weissenhofer (53; right) ranked 1-2 atop the 2006 national scoring charts and became the fourth set of Notre Dame teammates ever to reach 50 points in a season.

spacer.gif

spacer.gif

50-50 TEAMMATES – Hanks (66) and freshman forward Michele Weissenhofer (53; 18G-17A) ranked 1-2 atop the 2006 national points list while becoming the 23rd set of teammates in D-I history to go over 50 points in the same season … former SMU standouts Danielle Garrett (83 points) and Courtney Linex (77) are believed to be the only other D-I teammates to finish 1-2 atop the NCAA scoring lists for a season (1995) … ND has produced four sets of teammates (most from any school) with 50-plus points in a season, also: Cindy Daws (72), Jenny Streiffer (66), Monica Gerardo (59) and Holly Manthei (54) in 1996; Anne Makinen (58), Streiffer (58) and Meotis Erikson (56) in ’97; and Katie Thorlakson (71) and Hanks (71) in ’05 … Hanks joins Streiffer as the only Irish players ever to be part of two 50-point teammate groupings.