2016 NCAA WOMAN OF THE YEAR CONFERENCE NOMINEES

GAMBIER, Ohio – The North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) officially named recent Kenyon College graduate Haley Townsend as its single nominee for the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. As the conference representative, Townsend is one of just 142 student-athletes to be moved forward in a process that began with a record 517 nominees from colleges and universities around the nation.

The remaining 142 student-athletes vying for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Award represent 17 different sports spanning all three NCAA divisions. Of those recognized, 54 nominees competed in Division I, 37 in Division II and 51 in Division III.

Townsend, a swimmer who piled up 16 career All-America awards, sealed the deal as the conference's NCAA Woman of the Year nominee after she was named the recipient of the 2016 NCAC Pam Smith Award, an annual honor earned by just one female senior who distinguished herself throughout her collegiate career in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. The award comes along with the NCAC's commitment that the recipient will be assured a nomination in the NCAA Woman of the Year program, which is now in its 26th year.

In early September, the Woman of the Year selection committee will narrow the current field of 142 nominees down to a Top 30, representing the top 10 women in each division. The selection committee will then choose and announce the nine finalists, with three from each division, at the end of September. Then, from the pool of nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will determine the 2016 Woman of the Year.

The Top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year will be named at the annual banquet, which will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana on October 16.