Jan. 22, 2008

Kate Barber, a former All-America field hockey player at North Carolina, has been honored as USA Field Hockey's Female Athlete of the Year. It is the record fifth time overall and fourth time in a row that Barber has earned the recognition. She also was honored in 2002, '04, '05 and '06.

Barber, who played for the Tar Heels from 1994-97 and was part of three NCAA Championship teams, has been a member of the U.S. National Team for the past 10 years. She captained the squad to a second-place finish at the 2007 Pan American Games and has played in a team-high 183 international matches. Her career includes three World Cup appearances, but she'll be playing for her first trip to the Olympics when the U.S. travels to the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Russia this April.

Currently, Barber is part of the U.S. roster for the Argentina 4 National Tournament Jan. 23-27 in Mendoza, Argentina. Joining her on the squad are former Tar Heels Rachel Dawson and Amy Tran, as well as Katelyn Falgowski, a rising sophomore at UNC. The U.S. begins play Wednesday with a match against Germany. South Africa and host Argentina round out the field.