Two Nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Two outgoing University of Miami student-athletes have officially been named nominees for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year award, as announced Tuesday by the NCAA.
National champion sprinter Shakima Wimbley and two-time All-ACC soccer standout Gracie Lachowecki and are among the nation’s 543 nominees, 229 of whom are at the Division I level.
Established in 1991 and now in its 27th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
Wimbley, who hails from nearby Fort Lauderdale, Fla., won 23 ACC titles during her illustrious career, including sweeping all eight 200m competitions. The 400m national champion at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships, Wimbley tallied four ACC Championship MVP honors, two as a junior and two as a senior.
An education major who is among the 122 dual-sport nominees, Wimbley a semifinalist for The Bowerman Award Watch List this year and earned a silver medal in the 400m at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships. As a senior, she won USTFCCCA South Region Performer of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Lachowecki, a two-time All-ACC Academic Team honoree, concluded her career as the lone player in program history to score double-digit goals in multiple seasons. The Evansville, Ind., native ranks third all-time at Miami in goals, fourth in points, tied for sixth in game-winning goals and seventh in shots.
One of 84 soccer players among the nominees, Lachowecki was a Second Team All-ACC pick in 2015, a First Team All-ACC selection in 2016 and a four-time ACC Offensive Player of the Week. Lachowecki, who excelled academically while pursuing a rigorous nursing major, garnered both NSCAA Second Team All-Southeast Region and NSCAA Scholar All-South Region Second Team accolades as a senior.
Conferences will select up to two conference nominees each from the pool of school nominees. The Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will then choose the top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.
From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three honorees from each division and announces the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics then chooses the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine.
The top 30 honorees will be recognized and the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 22 in Indianapolis. Last year, Miami diver Kara McCormack was one the nine finalists.
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