April 27, 2009
STANFORD, Calif.- The Stanford field hockey program held its annual awards banquet on Apr. 24 in front of approximately 100 people at the Stanford Stadium Skybox.
Award winners included the following:
Senior
Hillary Braun was named Most Inspirational. Braun appeared in all 20 games, attempting 13 shots while finishing second on the squad with six assists to increase her career total to 20. An emotional team leader and fiery competitor, she wraps up her four-year career with five goals, 20 assists, 30 points and 61 shots in 72 games. Braun's junior season represented her breakthrough campaign with three goals, six assists, 12 points and 24 shots.
Junior
Midori Uehara received the Most Improved Award for the second consecutive season. After playing in just one game as a freshman, Uehara scored three goals and recorded seven points in 15 games as a sophomore. Continuing her development again last year as a junior, she earned Second Team All-NorPac honors while leading the Cardinal in goals (11) and points (22).
Sophomore
Camille Gandhi was selected as the Most Valuable Player. The 2008 NorPac Player of the Year, Gandhi was tabbed a NFHCA All-West Region First Team selection in addition to earning Third Team All-America honors by WomensFieldHockey.com. She led the Cardinal in assists (10) and shots (54) while scoring four goals and totaling 18 points. A dual national citizen, Gandhi was selected to the U.S. Under-21 National Team and led the U.S. past Chile with the game-winning overtime goal at the 2008 Junior Pan American Games.
Braun, along with fellow seniors Chloe Bade and Bailey Richardson, each gave a speech after the awards session, sharing memories from their four-year careers and offering thanks to those in attendance.
There was also a strong alumni turnout at the banquet, which served as the official kick-off for Alumni Weekend, highlighted by a social on Saturday and a 7v7 tournament on Sunday.
Stanford finished 9-11 overall in 2008, advancing to the NCAA Play-in game for the second straight season. The Cardinal was also crowned NorPac Tournament champions for the second year in a row and won seven of its final nine games to close out the season.
