She is not just another female Chinese-American Olympic hockey star. Julie Chu ’06 (’07), a two-time Olympic medalist in ice hockey and a member of the U.S. national team since 2000, has won this year’s Patty Kazmeier Award, which recognizes the preeminent player in women’s intercollegiate ice hockey. Chu (see “A Rush from Olympus,” March-April 2003, page 77) is the fourth Crimson player to win the Kazmaier in the award’s 10-year history. Her Crimson predecessors are A.J. Mleczko ’97 (’99), who won in 1999, Jennifer Botterill ’02 (’03), who won twice, in 2001 and 2003, and Angela Ruggiero ’02 (’04), who won in 2004. Chu, a three-time all-America selection, earned a silver medal with the U.S. Olympic team at Salt Lake City in 2002 and a bronze at Torino in 2006.
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David Silverman / DSPics.com |
Julie Chu, top scorer in the history of NCAA women's hockey |
This season, she was chosen as Ivy League Player of the Year. Chu led a Harvard team that lost 1-0 to the eventual national champions, Wisconsin, in quadruple overtime in the first round of the NCAA tournament. In tandem with Meghan Agosta of Mercyhurst College, Chu led the nation in scoring this year. Both players tallied 66 points, with Chu’s 48 assists the country’s best figure. Chu also ranked first nationally in points per game (2.20) and assists per game (1.60). During her Harvard career, she set a Crimson record with 196 assists. Add her 88 goals and Chu’s college career point total of 284 ranks first in NCAA history.
Known as one of the most selfless players ever to skate for Harvard, the redoubtable Chu, a psychology concentrator, volunteers at a homeless shelter and belongs to Harvard’s student-athlete advisory committee. “In my 13 years of coaching at Harvard, no one has distinguished herself more than Julie,” said head hockey coach Katey Stone. “Her commitment to her teammates, coaches, and school far exceeds that of any of her predecessors. She is a gifted athlete and a true humanitarian.”
