Courage's Luckenbill and Prinz Nominated For ESPY Award

Published on June 13, 2003 under Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
Carolina Courage News Release


Morrisville, NC (June 13, 2003) - The Carolina Courage's Kristin Luckenbill and Birgit Prinz are among the four nominees for the ESPY Award for Best Female Soccer Player. In a new element for this year's ESPY Awards, fans will determine the winners in these 17 categories through online voting, June 13-30. The ESPY Awards Presented by General Motors bring together the sports world to celebrate the top achievements, relive memorable moments and salute the best performers and performances. ESPN will televise the event live from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on Wednesday, July 16 at 9 p.m. ET.

Carolina Courage goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill captured the 2002 WUSA Goalkeeper of the Year award, after leading all WUSA goalkeepers with 12 wins and 114 saves. Her outstanding performance in net was instrumental in the Courage capturing the 2002 Founders Cup and 2002 regular season championship. Luckenbill led Carolina from a worst-to-first turnaround in 2002. The co-Player of the Month for April became the first 'keeper in WUSA history to record more than 100 saves in a single season.

2002 was a remarkable year for Courage forward Birgit Prinz. The German superstar led her German club FFC Frankfurt to the coveted "treble", a rare soccer feat in which a team wins both domestic championships and a European title. After she arrived in the United States in June, Prinz guided the Carolina Courage to the 2002 regular season championship and the 2002 Founders Cup Championship. Prinz finished her first WUSA season ranked third in both goals and points, despite only playing 2/3 of the season. She was voted a first team WUSA All-Star and MVP of Founders Cup II.

Nominees in the remaining 16 ESPY Awards categories will be announced next week and the winners will be chosen by the returning ESPY Academy, an industry-wide panel consisting of legendary athletes and coaches as well as nationally recognized print and broadcast journalists. Those categories are mostly the cross-cutter ESPY Awards, which pit athletes from different sports against each other (e.g. - Best Female Athlete, Best Team, Best Game).

FAN VOTING PROCESS

>From June 13 to June 30, nominees in the 17 sport-specific categories, such as Best NHL Player, Best NBA Player and Best Female Tennis Player, will be posted on ESPN.com (Keyword: ESPY), where fans can vote for the winners. Sport-specific voting will also be available on participating league and industry web sites and totals will be tallied from all sites to determine the winners, which will be announced July 16 as part of the ESPY Awards telecast.

In addition, the Arthur Ashe Courage Award is presented annually to individuals whose contributions transcend sports. Last year, the award honored Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett and Jeremy Glick, four passengers who lost their lives September 11th on United Flight 93. The 2003 recipient will be announced soon.

FUN FACTS ABOUT FAN VOTING CATEGORY NOMINEES

* Sister Act: Serena Williams, who captured her fourth consecutive Grand Slam win earlier this year at the 2003 Australian Open, is nominated for Best Female Tennis Player. Last year, the honor went to her sister Venus WiIliams (Venus is nominated again).

* Title Run: In an NBA Finals match-up, Jason Kidd (Nets) and Tim Duncan (Spurs) will square off for Best NBA Player. Other nominees include Laker teammates Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant and young stars Tracy McGrady (Magic) and Kevin Garnett (Timberwolves).

* Super Mario: Mario Lemieux (Penguins) shoots for his fourth Best NHL Player Award and will face off against Stanley Cup-winning goalie Martin Brodeur (Devils), Conn Smythe winner Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Mighty Ducks), Peter Forsberg (Avalanche) and Markus Nasland (Canucks).

* Back-To-Back: Lennox Lewis will attempt to win his second straight Best Boxer award. Other possible repeat winners include Lisa Leslie (Best WNBA Player), Barry Bonds (Best MLB Player), Lleyton Hewitt (Best Male Tennis Player), Venus Williams (Best Female Tennis Player), Michael Schumacher (Best Driver), Shaquille O'Neal (Best NBA Player), Tiger Woods (Best Male Golfer), Annika Sorenstam (Best Female Golfer) and Landon Donovan (Best Male Soccer Player).

* Cy Young vs. MVP: 2002 MLB MVP's Barry Bonds (Giants) and Miguel Tejada (A's) will go head-to-head with Cy Young winners Randy Johnson (Diamondbacks) and Barry Zito (A's) for the Best MLB Player ESPY Award. Alex Rodriguez (Rangers) is also a nominee.

* Up in the Air: Rich Gannon (Raiders) set an NFL record with 21 straight completions in a game en route to league MVP honors, while Marvin Harrison (Colts) set the single-season record with 143 receptions. The two will compete in the Best NFL Player category against Derrick Brooks (Buccaneers), Michael Vick (Falcons), Terrell Owens (49ers) and Priest Holmes (Chiefs).

* Drive Time: Indy 500 winner Gil de Ferran will look to best 2002 Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart, as well as John Force, Sam Hornish, Jr. and Michael Shumacher for Best Driver.

* Tiger Looks To Increase Record Total: Tiger Woods, the all-time ESPY Award winner with 14 trophies, looks to capture Best Male Golfer. He will compete against Rich Beem, Ernie Els, Davis Love III and Mike Weir.

* League's Best on Display: Regular-season MVP Sheryl Swoopes (Comets), WNBA Finals MVP Lisa Leslie (Sparks), WNBA Rookie of the Year Tamika Catchings (Fever) and All-Star Chamique Holdsclaw (Mystics) will vie for Best WNBA Player.

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