The NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee has named the top 30 honorees for the 2016 Woman of the Year Award.
A record 517 school nominees were submitted this year, which was whittled down to 142 conference nominees. The committee selected 30 women from that pool – 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions – representing 13 sports and a host of undergraduate majors, including biology, accounting, criminal justice, education, engineering, and computer science.
The top 30 honorees have demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership.
“This year’s top 30 honorees have achieved remarkable things during their time in college,” said Sarah Hebberd, chair of the Woman of the Year selection committee and director of compliance at the University of Georgia. “They are model student-athletes for generations of young women to come, and we are immeasurably proud of their accomplishments.”
The selection committee will name nine finalists – three women from each division – in late September. From the nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will select the 2016 Woman of the Year, who will be announced Oct. 16 at a ceremony in Indianapolis.
The top 30 honorees are:
- Rachael Acker, University of California Berkeley, swimming and diving
- Tracey Balinskas, Molloy College, softball
- Lauren Blazing, Duke University, field hockey
- Rachel Bombardier, Castleton University, ice hockey, lacrosse
- Hannah Chappell-Dick, Eastern Mennonite University, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field
- Kendall Coyne, Northeastern University, ice hockey
- Taylor Ellis-Watson, University of Arkansas Fayetteville, indoor and outdoor track and field
- Margaret Guo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, swimming and diving
- Christina Hillman, Iowa State University, indoor and outdoor track and field
- Kim Kahnweiler, Bowdoin College, field hockey
- Elizabeth Kiblinger, Maryville University of St. Louis, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field
- Maia Kuhnen, Clayton State University, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field, soccer
- Bri Leeper, West Texas A&M University, indoor and outdoor track and field
- Maurissa Lester, Limestone College, basketball
- Lauren Martin, Adams State University, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field
- Haylie McCleney, University of Alabama, softball
- Kara McCormack, University of Miami (Fla.), swimming and diving
- Maggie Monnat, Le Moyne University, lacrosse
- Cathleen Pruden, Mount Holyoke College, swimming and diving
- Marissa Robinson, Kean University, field hockey
- Faith Rohn, Palm Beach Atlantic University, volleyball
- Elayna Siebert, Carson-Newman University, softball
- Katie Spieler, University of Hawaii Manoa, beach volleyball
- Ruth Steinke, Carleton College, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field
- Emily Tillo, Boston University, golf
- Haley Townsend, Kenyon College, swimming and diving
- Cameasha Turner, University of Texas El Paso, women’s basketball
- Sasa Vann, SUNY- Buffalo State, indoor and outdoor track and field
- Amy Viti, Misericordia University, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field
- Channing Wilson, California State University Stanislaus, indoor and outdoor track and field