NCAA Woman of the Year Nominees Include Eight MAAC Student-Athletes
MAAC Sports
Edison, NJ - A total of eight female student-athletes from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference member institutions have been nominated for the 2014 NCAA Woman of the Year Award as announced by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
In all, 456 female student-athletes were nominated for the 2014 NCAA Woman of the Year award. Of those nominees, 205 participated in Division I, 75 participated in Division II, and 166 participated in Division III athletics.
The Woman of the Year award honors graduating female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.
To be eligible for the NCAA Woman of the Year award nominee must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2013-14 competitive season and received her undergraduate degree prior to the conclusion of the summer 2014 term. Nominees must also have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.
The top 30 honorees (10 from each division) will be honored, and the 2014 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced, at the annual ceremony in Indianapolis on Sunday, Oct. 19.
Below is a brief bio of each of the MAAC nominees:
Emily Elek finishes her stellar career at Canisius as a team caption and 10th all-time in school history with 989 career kills. During her college career she has received many honors including MAAC All-Academic Team, Richard Jones Most Heart Awards, MVP of Canisius Athletic Training Class and the Cannon Leadership Award. In addition to her many awards, Emily was heavily involved in the Student Advisory Committee as a SAAC Officer and representing Canisius in MAAC SAAC and helping in organizing the SAAC Blue & Gold Alumni Networking Event. Outside of her athletic duties, Elek participated in a number of community service efforts, including the South Buffalo Community Table, Special Olympics volleyball tournament and Griffins after dark Christmas event.
In her final season Hayley Moyer helped her Fairfield team win the MAAC Volleyball Championship by leading the league in hitting percentage and ranking 51st nationally(.362). She was named to the All-MAAC Second Team and the MAAC All-Tournament Team. For her career she ranks 7th all-time at Fairfield in hitting percentage, 7th all-time in block assists and 10th all-time in total blocks. In addition to her illustrious playing career she was involved in SAAC, Ignatian Residential College as an Alumni Mentor, served on the residential community council and worker as a City of Bridgeport Citistat intern. She also spent her career participating in community service projects such as Girl Scout Day, Relay for Life, Prospect House and Kairos Retreat. Finally she excelled academically being named to the MAAC All-Academic each of her seasons and Fairfield's Dean's list every semester.
Trista Rivera received many honors during her career as goalkeeper of the Iona Gaels Women's Soccer team. She was named to the All-MAAC Rookie Team and All-MAAC 2nd Team. She was a four-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Week and named ECAC Defensive Player of the Week. Outside of the playing field she was actively involved at Iona participating as a Gael Community Ambassador, being Vice President of Students Against Destructive Decisions and Treasurer for the Tara Knights Society. Her community service projects include Iona in Mission, Midnight Run, Habitat for Humanity and Project Sunshine.
Kate Bowen had an outstanding career on Manhattan's Softball Team. She was honored as a two-time First Team All-MAAC Choice, NFCA First Team All-Northeast Region Selection and a three-time team MVP. Bowen is Manhattan's all-time leader in games played (190), games started (185) and at-bats (618), she is second all-time in hits (211) and third in runs scored (122) and doubles (39). Off the field she has excelled in the classroom being named the 2014 Manhattan College Senior Class Valedictorian, after earning the Dean's List every semester and being named to three honor societies. On campus she was involved in SAAC and the Manhattan College Freshman Extended Orientation. She spoke in events such as the NYS AAHPERD Conference and National Girls & Women and Sports Day. She was heavily involved in events such as Sandy Hook Dedication Game, Winter Wonderland, Safe Halloween and PEK Toy Drive. She volunteered her time helping local Bronx elementary schools and offering free lessons to local kids.
Jamie Romano a three-time captain and three-time 1st team All-MAAC selection finished her illustrious career at Marist College as a women's lacrosse player. At Marist she finishes her career ranked first in draw controls (268), fourth in goals (126), sixth in points (145) and holds the single-season record for draw controls (83). Over her years at Marist, Jamie was involved in the Hunger Walk, Giving Tree Donation, EC34 Flag Football Tournament, Girl Scouts Sports Sampler and Friends of Jaclyn Mentee. She also participated in events such as Freshman Move In, Edward Taylor Coombs Lax Tournament, Special Olympics Tournament and Vassar Warner Senior Living Home.
Kaitlyn Schumacher finishes her career at Monmouth University as a great asset to the Women's Softball team and the community at Monmouth. During her career she received recognitions such as 2012 NEC player of the year, 2012 All-ECAC First Team and 2014 Monmouth University NJAIAW Woman of the Year. She was heavily involved in Monmouth's Student Athlete Advisory Committee serving as the Webmaster, Secretary and Vice President. She also participated in community service projects such as Dream Big, Fly High, Team Impact, Janelle Moorehead Clinics and Seabrook Retirement Home.
Sandra Penas has had an outstanding career while at Rider University on the Women's Field Hockey Team. through her four years she helped lead her team to 4 regular season titles and 3 tournament championships to earn a bid in the NCAA tournament. She has twice been named the player of year for the conference and in all four of her seasons been named to the all-tournament team. Prior to her accomplishments at Rider, she was part of the Spanish national team from 2007-2010. In addition to her athletic accomplishments she contribute to events such as Special Olympics New Jersey, Cleat and Clothing Drive and NGWSD Clinic for Girls.
Taylor Akana finishes her stellar career at Siena College ranked second on Siena's all-time kills charts (1,700) and fourth in digs (1,370). The Senior CLASS Award candidate was honored as MAAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2012 and MAAC Rookie of the Year in 2010. She was alsoa three-time nominee for the All-MAAC First Team and selected the ECAC All-Star Team. In addition to athletics she was a member of several prestigious honors societies, including: 21st Century Business Leaders Society, Beta Gamma Sigma and Delta Epsilon Sigma.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
The MAAC, headquartered in Edison, N.J., consists of 11 member institutions: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University and Siena College. ANC Sports Enterprises, LLC. is the league’s marketing consultant and has the exclusive sales rights to the MAAC. For more on the conference please visit, www.maacsports.com or reach us on Twitter @MAACSports.
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