Chu Honored With Patty Kazmaier

Six years in the spotlight of women’s hockey—four at Harvard and two with the U.S. Olympic Team—and Julie Chu is still finding new ways to distinguish herself.

During a brunch ceremony at the Hilton Lake Placid Resort in Lake Placid, N.Y, site of the 2007 NCAA Women’s Frozen Four, the USA Hockey Foundation selected Chu as the recipient of this year’s Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to the top player in the college game.

“In my 13 years of coaching at Harvard, no one has distinguished themselves more than Julie,” Harvard coach Katey Stone said at the ceremony. “Her commitment to her teammates, coaches, and school far exceeds that of any of her predecessors. She is a gifted athlete and true humanitarian.”

Both Chu and Harvard sophomore Sarah Vaillancourt made the list of 10 finalists announced in February. The 13-person selection committee of coaches, media representatives, and members of the USA Hockey Foundation then narrowed the field to three in March, leaving Chu, Mercyhurst freshman Meghan Agosta, and Wisconsin senior Sara Bauer.

Agosta, the first-ever freshman to be named a top-three finalist, had one of the most impressive rookie campaigns in the history of women’s hockey, recording 34 goals and 16 power-play goals to lead the nation in both categories.

Bauer received the Kazmaier Award in 2006 after leading Wisconsin to its first national championship. This year, Bauer totaled 66 points during the regular season and an additional seven points in the NCAA playoffs—including the game-winning assist in Wisconsin’s 1-0 quadruple-overtime win over the Crimson in the quarterfinals—in directing the Badgers to their second straight national title and earning the honor as the Frozen Four’s Most Outstanding Player.

And for Chu, it has also been a senior season of impressive numbers. She registered 66 points on 18 goals and 48 assists in only 30 games to lead the nation in points per game, assists, and assists per game. She finishes her career as the NCAA’s all-time assist leader and third on the school’s scoring list with 196 points.

But it may be the gutsy team efforts, such as the seven-period grind in the quarterfinal loss to Wisconsin, that she will remember best.

“I’m sad that I won’t get a chance to put on that Harvard jersey again,” Chu said in her acceptance speech. “That was a great honor for me.”

“It’s not about me,” she added. “It’s about something so much larger than me—it’s about my team. They were actually planning on driving up today for five hours on a bus and driving right back after the brunch for five hours just so that they could be here with me.”

And her teammates realize that there is something special about Chu’s ability to lead both on and off the ice.

“There’s no fanfare,” said Harvard and Olympic teammate Caitlin Cahow of Chu’s leadership qualities. “It’s very natural for her. That’s just her personality.”

Named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, an All Ivy-League defenseman for Princeton from 1981-1986 who died of a rare blood disease in 1990, the trophy recognizes outstanding play in Division I women’s hockey as well as sportsmanship, performance in the clutch, personal character, academic achievement, civic involvement and a love of hockey.

In other words, the Kazmaier seeks not only to reward performance in the world of women’s hockey but also in the community at large—an area in which Chu, a volunteer at the UniLu homeless shelter and active member of the Women’s Sports Foundation, has definitely made a difference.

“Julie has it all,” Cahow said. “She works hard in school, she does a lot in the Cambridge community—she is very dedicated to making sure that women’s hockey makes a mark in the world.”

With Chu’s honor, Harvard players have now received the Kazmaier five times in the 10-year history of the award. A.J. Mleczko ’97-’99 won in 1999, Jennifer Botterill ’02-’03 captured the award in 2001 and 2003 and Angela Ruggiero ’02-’04 won in 2004.

—Staff writer Rebecca A. Compton can be reached at compton@fas.harvard.edu.