MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin women's hockey sophomore duo of Caroline Harvey and Kirsten Simms each earned more WCHA hardware on Wednesday, as Harvey was named the WCHA Defender of the Year and Simms was recognized as the WCHA Forward of the Year.

Harvey, who was the WCHA Rookie of the Year last year, becomes the fifth Badger to earn WCHA Defender of the Year honors and the first since Stefanie McKeough was awarded the honor in 2012.

Simms is the fourth Badger to be named the league's forward of the year, an award that started in 2018, joining the likes of Annie Pankowski (2019), Abby Roque (2018, 2020) and Daryl Watts (2021) as UW recipients of the honor. 

A native of Salem, New Hampshire, Harvey joins an elite group of Badgers that have been named WCHA Defender of the Year that includes Molly Engstrom (2004, 2005), Bobbi-Jo Slusar (2006), Stefanie McKeough (2012) and Meaghan Mikkelson (2007). Harvey leads all WCHA defenders this season with 33 points thanks to five goals and 28 assists, despite missing nine games due to injury. The 2022 Olympian has a +50 plus/minus rating and broke the school record for the best plus/minus rating in a single game with a +9 plus/minus mark against Lindenwood.

Simms leads the NCAA in scoring this season with 67 points, which is more than double her point total set during her freshman campaign (32 points) for UW. The Plymouth, Michigan, native ranks second in the NCAA in goals with 29 and second in assists with 38, while her eight game-winning goals also rank second in the country. Simms has recorded points in 29 of the 34 games she's played this season and has 21 multi-point games. 

Simms also was recognized as the WCHA scoring champion after she posted 47 points during the conference season. She narrowly beat linemate Casey O'Brien, who was second with 46 points.

The No. 2 Badgers hit the road this weekend to take on Minnesota in the semifinals of the 2024 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff in Minneapolis. Puck drop on Friday at Ridder Arena is set for 4:30 p.m. Fans can watch the action in Madison on the TV-W or listen to the game on The Game 1070 AM.