Two Hoosiers Nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year
7/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
July 2, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana senior rower Emily Kasavana and senior field hockey defender and 2010 Rhodes Scholar Select Mutsa Mutembwa are two of 452 college and university nominees for the 20th annual NCAA Woman of the Year award.
The award honors senior student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.
Kasavana, a native of Williamston, Mich., has already earned several honors in 2010. She was selected an ESPN The Magazine Third Team All-American after graduating with a degree in IU's Kelley School of Business. Kasavana received the Stahr Award, which is presented to five graduating seniors at Indiana University who have excelled academically while serving as active student leaders. She earns the Lionel D. Edie Award, which is given to the highest-ranking graduating senior majoring in Business Economics. Kasavana was also named IU's Anita Aldrich Leadership Award winner, given by the Indiana Department of Intercollegiate Athletics to a female varsity student-athlete who exemplifies the ideals of leadership, scholastic achievement and athletic ability.
Kasavana, IU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee president, is a three-time Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association National Scholar-Athlete and a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. She earned ESPN The Magazine Third Team Academic All-America honors in 2009 and was the Hoosiers' Scholastic Achievement Award winner in 2009 and 2010. She was also named the 2009 Jack Tichenor Award winner for having the highest grade point average of any fe male IU student-athlete. Kasavana was named the 2010 Hoosier Award honoree, which is given by IU Athletics to a student-athlete that has brought honor and distinction to IU.
Kasavana, the 2008 IU Rowing MVP, was the 2007 and 2008 Aline Robinson Mental Attitude Award winner, which is given by IU Athletics to a female student-athlete from each sport who has distinguished herself in athletics and academics, and has displayed an outstanding mental attitude.
Mutembwa, who was a defender for IU field hockey, is the fourth IU student-athlete in school history to receive the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. A native of Zimbabwe, Mutembwa completed a rigorous interview with Oxford in her hometown of Harare and became the 15th Indiana University student to be named a Rhodes Scholar Select.
Mutembwa, a double major in Economics and Mathematics and at Indiana, completed her junior season with the Hoosiers where she helped lead IU to the first round of the NCAA Tournament and to the Big Ten Tournament championship game. She ended her athletic career at Indiana tied as the Hoosiers career defensive saves leader with seven in 53 games, matching IU All-American and Olympian Kayla Bashore (2001-05). She also ranked second in IU's single-season record book with four defensive saves on the season.
Mutembwa graduated in May and plans to become a financial economist and return to her native country to help solve Zimbabwe's profoundly tragic struggle with hyperinflation.
Every NCAA member institution was encouraged to honor its top graduating female student-athlete. If at least one of the nominees was a woman of color or international student-athlete, schools were urged to submit two nominations to their respective conference offices. Nominees represent all three divisions.
Each conference will assess each nominee's eligibility and select a conference nominee based on collective achievements in service, leadership, athletics and academics. All conference nominees will be forwarded to the Woman of the Year selection committee, which will choose the top 10 honorees in each division.
From among those 30 candidates, the selection committee will determine the top three in each division. Finally, members of the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will vote from among the top nine finalists to determine the 2010 NCAA Woman of the Year.
To be eligible for the award, female student-athletes must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2010 spring season, graduated no later than the end of the summer 2010 term and achieved a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.5.
The top 10 honorees per division will be announced in August, followed by the top three honorees by division in September. The top 30 honorees and the nine finalists from Divisions I, II and III will be honored and the 2010 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced at the annual ceremony in Indianapolis on October 17.
