FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: January 25, 2007

Courtney Thompson, a senior at the UW Business School, has been named the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Female Sports Star of the Year. She was honored along with former Husky basketball star Brandon Roy at the 72nd annual P-I Sports Star of the Year banquet January 24.

Ironically, Thompson was unable to accept this latest honor in person because she is currently in Colorado Springs training with the United States national team, one of only six collegiate players invited to join the veteran squad.

The star setter from Kent, Wa., is widely credited for the meteoric rise of the UW women's volleyball team. Thompson earned five first-team All-America awards over the last three seasons. She also is a two-time Academic All-American and captained the Huskies to three consecutive trips to the NCAA final four, including the 2005 national championship.

After the 2005 season, Thompson received the Honda Award, given to the nation's top female athlete in her sport, and she was a finalist in 2006.

Thompson concluded her career as the most decorated Husky of all-time. She set the Pac-10 Conference record with 6552 career assists, which ranks third on the NCAA all-time list. She also set the NCAA record with 14.56 assists per game and became only the second player in Pac-10 history to amass 6,000 career assists.

Thompson closed out her collegiate career holding the school record for games played, starting all 450 games during her four years. She also holds the career school records for assists (6,552) and assists per game (14.56), and ranks sixth in hitting percentage (.331) and digs (1,059).

Newly minted LPGA pro Paige Mackenzie (BA 2006) also was honored at the P-I Sports Star of the Year banquet. The recent Business School grad concluded her stellar college golf career last spring winning the Pac-10 Championship and the NCAA West Regional, earning a spot on the Golfweek All-America team.

As Mackenzie pursues her dreams in the professional ranks, Thompson is fighting for her own ultimate dream at the Olympic Training Center. "As a high school kid I remember watching the Olympic team and looking up to them as superhuman or something. At that point it felt so far away," she said from the Olympic Training Center this week. "Now, because of the incredible experience at the UW, I have the opportunity to train here and compete for a spot against other former college players. And it no longer feels that far away… It's an odd, but incredible, feeling when playing in the Olympics doesn't feel impossible."

"I think I have a chance, and that's all I've ever wanted. I have a lot of work to do, but that's nothing new."

Characteristic of Thompson, she's also taking on the challenge of completing her degree while competing for her life-long athletic dream. She's taking a full load of independent studies while in Colorado Springs this quarter, and, schedule allowing, still plans to graduate in the spring.