The 2003-04 athletic calendar proved to be one of the most successful in Florida State history. Led by a Final Four finish in soccer and a College World Series appearance by softball, the FSU program saw all but two teams qualify for post-season play.

In this special series, the Osceola and Warchant.com team up to look back at the year that was and offer our nominees for the "Best Of 2003-04." We will profile each of the nominees in various categories on the web site and run our list of the winners in the July issue of The Osceola.

Today, we take a look at the nominees for Female Athlete of the Year. Based on All-American and All-ACC honors and final showings at national competitions, we selected the top female athletes of the school year and spotlight those accomplishments.

Next in the series, the nominees for Male Athlete of the Year.

Part 1: Women's

Part 2: Men's

Part 3: Women's

Part 4: Hart points to facilities as key to Directors' Cup showing

Part 5: Men's Team of the Year nominees

Part 6: Women's Individual Performance of the Year nominees

Part 7: Men's Individual Performance of the Year nominees

Why she's nominated: A senior from Bradford, England, Dutton became the first women's swimmer in FSU history to win ACC Swimmer of the Year honors. She earned that distinction by winning seven gold medals at the ACC meet -- three individual golds and four relay golds.

At the ACCs, Dutton won the 50-free, 100-breast and 200-breast, setting school and pool records in both breaststroke events. She swam a leg on each of FSU's four winning relays at the meet to become just the third swimmer in ACC history to win seven gold medals in the championship meet.

Dutton capped her senior season with a pair of All-America honors at the NCAA Championships, becoming just the 12th swimmer in FSU history -- and the first in 14 years -- to win multiple All-America honors at the NCAAs.

She also became the first Seminole to win Swimmer of the Meet honors at the ACC Championships.

Dutton finished second in the 50-free at the British Olympic Trials, which in past years would have been good enough to send her to the Olympic Games. But she did not meet the "A" qualifying standard and will have to settle for being the second-best sprint freestyler in her native country.

Why she's nominated: FSU's first-ever consensus All-American in soccer, Gallegos turned in a magical season to help lead the Seminoles to the College Cup (Final Four).

A sophomore from Los Angeles, Gallegos earned first-team All-America honors from SoccerBuzz magazine. She also earned second-team honors from CSTV and Soccer Times and was a third-team selection by the NSCAA.

Gallegos led FSU with 18 goals -- a school record -- and finished second overall in the ACC in goals.

Her best performances of the season came when FSU needed it the most. Against Auburn in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Gallegos scored a "golden goal" in double overtime to put FSU in the Sweet 16. Less than a week later, she scored with less than 30 seconds remaining in double overtime to lift the Seminoles past West Virginia and into the Elite Eight for the first time.

Gallegos closed out the school year by becoming the first player in school history to earn an invitation to play with the U-21 National Team.

Why she's nominated: A senior from Lancashire, England, Gill won All-American honors at three different NCAA meets. Truthfully, her points at all three meets probably made more of an impact on FSU's 22nd-place finish in the Directors' Cup than any other female athlete.

Gill finished 11th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships last fall and topped that with a fourth-place finish in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the early spring. But her best finish came at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, where she took second in the 10,000 meters.

Gill was also named the NCAA's South Region Athlete of the Year in cross country. She finished her FSU career as a five-time All-American.

Why she's nominated: A junior from Mission Viejo, Ca., Manning finished a combined 3.25 points away from being named a three-time All-American at the NCAA Diving Championships this year.

Manning finished 1.4 points out of eighth place in the one-meter springboard and 1.85 points out of eighth place in the three-meter springboard. She turned in a fifth-place finish in the 10-meter platform, It marked the third Top 10 finish of her career in the platform and second time she has won first-team All-America honors in the event. Her fifth-place finish topped the seventh place she won as a freshman.

Manning earned honorable mention All-America honors in the one-meter (finished 10th) and in the three-meter (finishing ninth).

To put Manning's meet in perspective, only one other diver in the country -- Texas A&M's Alida DiPlacido -- had Top 10 finishes in all three events at the 2004 Championships.

Manning also earned ACC Diver of the Year honors as well as Diver of the Meet honors for her performance at the ACC Championships.

Why she's nominated: A junior from Bucharest, Romania, Moldovan turned in the first perfect season in FSU tennis history.

She went 26-0 in singles play at the No. 2 position, earning All-ACC honors in the process. Moldovan's perfect season came in a year in which FSU played some of the top teams in the country, including Florida, North Carolina, Duke and others. Her last win of the season -- against Vanderbilt's Kelly Schmandt, was FSU's only point in the second-round loss to the Commodores in the NCAA Tournament.

Moldovan's perfect season carried over into the classroom, where she finished the school year with a perfect 4.0 GPA.

Why she's nominated: A senior from Cerritos, Ca., van der Linden became the most decorated player in the history of FSU's storied softball program.

She is FSU's first-ever National Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Honda-Broderick Cup, which is given to the best Female Athlete in the Country (regardless of sport). She did win the Honda Award as the best softball player in the country.

A pitcher and outfielder, van der Linden finished the season ranked second in the nation in ERA, sixth in strikeouts (pitching), 14th in the nation in victories and 32nd in batting average. No player in America combined to post a higher batting average and a lower ERA.

She broke FSU single-season records for strikeouts (as a pitcher) and RBIs at the plate and she also set new career marks for walks, RBIs, doubles and strikeouts.

Her best work, though, came at the highest stage. She batted .714 in the College World Series.

She capped her senior season by attending the ESPY Awards, where she was one of five nominees for the Best Female College Athlete of the Year.