Not all of her support came from Harvard, however.
“I have already voted [for Corriero] from numerous computers,” says friend and Dartmouth senior Tiffany Hagge. “I forwarded the voting link to my teammates and I would guess that they will all vote for her, especially those that know her. I think there is a healthy respect between Dartmouth and Harvard, and I think if a Dartmouth player were nominated for something, most Harvard players would do the same and vote.”
Although her teammates and friends are convinced Corriero deserves the ESPY, she faces an uphill battle because of both stiff competition and the relatively small size of the women’s hockey fan base as compared to women’s basketball or softball.
The past three—and the only three—award-winners in the category of Best College Female Athlete have been women’s basketball players from Connecticut: Sue Bird in 2002 and Diana Taurasi in 2003 and 2004. This year, LSU forward Seimone Augustus represents women’s basketball.
But Corriero’s faithful remain undeterred.
“Nicki is the only finalist to set a record on both the men’s and women’s side of her sport,” Hagge says. “When Seimone Augustus can dunk, then we’ll see.”
In addition to Augustus, Corriero is competing against UCLA gymnast Kristen Maloney, Texas softball pitcher Cat Osterman, and Notre Dame soccer forward Katie Thorlakson.
Despite her own impressive resume, Corriero maintains her humility even through hamming it up.
“I don’t want to say I don’t think I should win, but I just think that being a part of this group is an incredible distinction in and of itself, so I’m perfectly content to be a nominee,” she says. “Everyone has different abilities that made them stand out in such a way to be recognized by ESPN, and so to say that mine are more worthy of note than someone else’s is unfair. I’ll leave that up to the voters!”
While Augustus and Osterman draw fans from the more popular sports, Thorlakson poses a different problem for Corriero. Not only is she a fellow Canadian, but she also hails from the same hometown—Langley, British Columbia—and attended the same high school—Walnut Grove—as Corriero’s former teammate, Raimondi.
“Katie and I go way back, we were on the same soccer team when we were seven,” Raimondi says. “From then on, we played almost every sport either together or against one another; she even played hockey for a while. We ended up going to the same high school and we’re still friends.”
Though Raimondi may split her allegiance equally between her two friends, Banfield doesn’t foresee any problems splitting the Canadian vote.
“Canadians love ice hockey. It defines our culture and brings our people together,” she says. “With the NHL on hold, the people need a hockey player to believe in. They need a hero. They need Nicole Corriero.”
THE FINAL SCORE
The ESPY Awards will likely mark the end of Corriero’s hockey career, but rather than focus on what might have or should have been hers, she emphasizes the high note on which she is fortunate to close that career. Win or lose, she’s out to have fun in Los Angeles.
“At this point, it’s not about redemption,” she says. “I honestly feel content with my hockey career and everything that has come with it. Whether or not I get nominated for an ESPY is not going to change that,” she says. “What it does do, however, is give me an incredible opportunity to be a part of something I never dreamed of doing.”
“And furthermore, it opens the door for me to finally realize my dream of becoming a Playboy Playmate.”
This is the second consecutive year that fans will determine the winners through online voting, which began June 24 and ends July 8. Fans can vote for Corriero at the following link: http://espn.go.com/espy2005/s/05femalecollegenominees.html.
The ESPY Awards will be held on Wednesday, July 13 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. The award show will air on ESPN on Sunday, July 17 at 9pm ET.
—Staff writer John R. Hein can be reached at hein@fas.harvard.edu.