The NCAA announced today (August 4) the 142 female student-athletes across Divisions I, II, and III who have been selected as 2011 Woman of the Year nominees. Among the nominees were Chattanooga softball player, Tiffany Baker and Georgia Southern swimmer Caroline Bevillard.
Baker finished her collegiate career at Chattanooga as a two-time All-SoCon First team performer. The East Ridge, Tenn. native is the Moc's all-time career home runs leader with 50 and has a .587 slugging percentage, which puts her fourth on the school's all-time career list.
Bevillard holds the 200 Free school record at Georgia Southern. The Bishop, Ga. native was also a member of the school-record 200, 400, and 800 Free Relay Teams and 400 Medley Relay team. During her junior campaign (2009-2010) she was named Georgia Southern University's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The prestigious award honors female student-athletes who have had successful collegiate careers in their respective sport, in the classroom, and have demonstrated community service and leadership. The 471 nominations submitted for the award marked an all-time high for the NCAA.
A committee made up of NCAA members and athletic conferences will narrow down the list to 30 individuals later this month with 10 nominees from each NCAA division. The Top 30 will then be pared down to three finalists from each division leaving a final nine. The Committee on Women's Athletics will then select the 2011 NCAA Woman of the Year. The announcement will be made during the Woman of the Year dinner on Sunday, October 16 in Indianapolis.