Center and flyhalf McKenzie Hawkins has been named the winner of the M.A. Sorensen Award as the top women's collegiate player across all divisions of rugby.  The Maryville, Tennessee native who just completed her junior year at Lindenwood, was presented with the trophy at a dinner at the Washington Athletic Club in Seattle, Washington on June 9. 

Hawkins began as one of 11 nominees for the award, which is named after MaryAnne Sorensen, a former American college rugby athlete at William and Mary and member of the USA Eagles squad that won the 1991 World Cup.  World Cup teammate Tara Flanagan served as the keynote speaker for the event.  After the public across the country voted to narrow the list down to five finalists, a special group of rugby representatives and media across the women's rugby landscape voted to determine a winner.  The other four finalists included Grace Taito from BYU, Sui A'au from Central Washington, Maya Learned from Harvard, and Ilona Maher from Quinnipiac. 

Lindenwood Head Coach Billy Nicholas also attended the dinner and had high praise for his player.

"Her winning the Sorensen Award is like winning the 'Heisman' of college rugby.  She has been one of our team leaders since she started her career at Lindenwood, and she's one of the hardest working individuals I know," he said. "She embodies what a student-athlete is, earning a 4.0 GPA every semester and constantly working on her rugby skills, and it shows in the way she trains and plays."

Hawkins, who has been nominated for the award previously, helped lead the Lady Lions to three national titles this spring including the USA Rugby D1 Elite 15's and Collegiate Sevens Championships, as well as the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Sevens Championship (CRC 7's) just over a week ago on June 3 in Chester, Pennsylvania.
 
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