Women’s hockey captain Aleca Hughes ’12 is up for a top award for character in sports.

Hughes has been named one of five collegiate finalists for the Coach Wooden Citizen Cup — an award given annually to one professional and one collegiate athlete for character, leadership and contribution to sport and society. The collegiate finalists will be recognized in a ceremony in Atlanta on April 25 alongside the professional recipient Pat Summit, the University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach.

Hughes has led humanitarian efforts in honor of former teammate Mandi Schwartz ’11, who died of leukaemia last April, including the “White Out for Mandi” fundraiser games and the Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive. In the past two seasons, the “White Outs” have raised over $40,000 dollars and the annual bone marrow drive has added nearly 2,500 potential donors to the registry. Hughes also started the Mandi Schwartz Foundation, which aims to support youth hockey players suffering from cancer in North America.

In addition to the Coach Wooden Citizen Cup, Hughes is one of five finalists for the BNY Mellon Wealth Management Hockey Humanitarian Award, the winner of which will be announced on April 6. The Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup is named after the former UCLA men’s basketball coach, the late John Wooden, who helped his team win seven NCAA national championships in a row.