Photo by Joe Kusumoto Photography

Laurie Stephens is one of three Paralympians selected as finalists for the 2006 Sportswoman of the Year Awards.

Each year, the Women's Sports Foundation honors athletes from individual and team sports for their outstanding performances. Last year, Paralympian Erin Popovich (Silverbow, Mont.) won the individual award for her showing at the 2004 Paralympic Games, where she won seven gold medals.

Fans can vote for their favorites through Aug. 31 by clicking here.

Below are this year's finalists for the Individual and Team Sportswoman of the Year Awards. Nominees are being considered for their achievements between Aug. 1, 2005 and July 31, 2006.

Individual

Swimmer Jessica Long set 25 American records, 21 Pan-American records and 12 world records spanning a variety of disciplines. She was named Swimmer of the Meet at the 2005 U.S. Paralympics Open Swimming Championships at the University of Minnesota in December, and was selected as the U.S. Olympic Committee's Female Athlete of the Month for January 2006.

Alpine skier Laurie Stephens won her third consecutive World Cup overall title in 2006, in addition to winning the giant slalom and super G crowns. At the Paralympic Winter Games in Torino, she won gold medal in both the downhill and super G, where she beat the field by better than three seconds, and a silver in the giant slalom.

Other individual nominees: speedskater Cindy Klassen, tennis player Amelie Mauresmo, gymnast Chellsie Memmel, track athlete Sanya Richards, golfer Annika Sorenstam, snowboarder Hannah Teter and drag racer Melanie Troxel.

Team

In December, wheelchair basketball player Jennifer Ruddell became the first woman to play in the Men's Division I of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association, where she more than held her own, starting all 12 games and averaging 15.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. At the same time, she was putting an MVP season together for the University of Illinois Women's Wheelchair Basketball Team, which she capped off with a triple-double (28 points, 16 rebounds, 12 assists) in the team's national championship game victory in March. This summer, Ruddell helped the U.S. to a silver medal at the Wheelchair Basketball World Championships, ranking second among all players in scoring (18.5 ppg, including a single game tournament-high 28 against Germany) and first in steals.

Other team nominees: basketball player Seimone Augustus, sailor Sally Barkow, bobsledders Sandra Kiriasis and Anja Schneiderheinze, lacrosse player Kristen Kjellman, beach volleyball players Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, figure skater Tatiana Navka, curler Anette Norberg, softball player Cat Osterman and ice hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser.

For more information, visit http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/.