July 1, 2008 - USA Field Hockey Women’s National Team member RACHEL DAWSON is a finalist for the 2008 ESPY award for Best Female College Athlete.

Dawson led the University of North Carolina field hockey team to an undefeated record and the school’s fifth national championship. She was team captain for the Tar Heels and top scorer with 19 goals. A two-time first-team All-American, Dawson was recognized with the Honda Award as the 2007 National Player of the Year for field hockey. The Berlin, N.J. native was also the 2007 ACC Defensive Player of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP.

A business major and Dean's List student with a 3.63 GPA, Dawson graduated with distinction from North Carolina in December. She was named the 2007 ACC Scholar-Athlete for field hockey and recently was honored as an Academic All-America.

Dawson has been named to the U.S. Olympic Team for Women's Field Hockey and will compete in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Dawson was named Player of the Tournament at the World Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in Kazan, Russia earlier this year.

The other finalists for the award are Tennessee women's basketball player Candace Parker and Virginia Tech softball pitcher Angela Tincher. All three were finalists for the 2008 Honda-Broderick Cup, awarded to the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year.

The ESPY awards are presented by ESPN and will be televised Sunday, July 20. The winners will be determined by online votes submitted at the ESPYs website between July 1 and July 12.

For more information on the ESPYs, visit www.espys.tv.

For more information on USA Field Hockey, visit www.usafieldhockey.com.