Sept. 6, 2005

Kendra Wecker (Kansas State), Richelle Simpson (Nebraska), Valentina Medina (Oklahoma State), and Jamie Carey (Texas) were named NCAA Woman of the Year of their respective states on Aug. 31.

The campaign to crown the 15th annual NCAA Woman of the Year began with the selection of 51 state winners, including representatives from Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. There were no nominations from the state of Arizona.

The NCAA Woman of the Year recognizes outstanding female student-athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics and community leadership.

Chosen by a committee of representatives from member institutions, 29 of the 2005 state honorees are from Division I, while 16 represent Division II and six are from Division III. They represent 15 sports.

The committee of institutional representatives also will select 10 finalists from the 51 state winners, based on grade-point average, athletics achievement and community service. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will chose the national winner from among the 10 finalists. Finalists will be revealed in the September 26 issue of The NCAA News.

The 2005 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced during the annual awards dinner October 29 in Indianapolis. ESPN personality Danielle Sargent and Kara Lawson, former University of Tennessee, Knoxville, women's basketball standout and a 2003 Woman of the Year top-10 finalist currently playing in the WNBA, will serve as emcees for the evening.

As part of the Woman of the Year weekend of activities, honorees will be working with youth and the Association's character-building program Stay in Bounds at the NCAA Hall of Champions.

This year's state winners were chosen from a pool of 352 nominations, 76 more than in 2004 and the most since 2000, when there also were 352 candidates for the honor. The pool showed an increase in diversity as well, specifically in African-American, international, Asian/Pacific Islander and Latina/Hispanic student-athletes.

Division I submitted 188 applications. Fifty-six nominations came from Division II and 111 were received from Division III. The numbers represent increases in submissions for all three divisions over last year, with Division I submitting 50 more applications and Divisions II and III registering more modest gains at 14 and 15, respectively.

Kelly Albin, a lacrosse student-athlete from the University of California, Davis, was recognized as the 2004 NCAA Woman of the Year. Albin is the third winner from UC Davis since the award's inception in 1991. The University of Georgia also has produced three national award winners.

Woman of the Year State Winners

State	Name	School	Sport
Alaska	Mindy Lindquist	University of Alaska Anchorage	Basketball, track and field, volleyball
Alabama	Michelle Reeser	University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa	Gymnastics
Arkansas	Jayme Butts	University of Arkansas, Little Rock	Soccer, swimming
California	Ogonna Nnamani	Stanford University	Volleyball
Colorado	Alisha Williams	Western State College of Colorado	Cross country, track and field
Connecticut	Kristen Graczyk	University of Connecticut	Soccer
Washington, D.C.	Colleen Kelly	Georgetown University	Cross country, track and field
Delaware	Leah Geib	University of Delaware	Field hockey
Florida	Melissa Lehman	Barry University	Volleyball
Georgia	Samantha Arsenault	University of Georgia	Swimming
Hawaii	Tracie Uchima	University of Hawaii, Manoa	Softball
Iowa	Jennifer Skolaski	University of Iowa	Swimming
Idaho	Tania Vander Meulen	University of Idaho	Cross country, track and field
Illinois	Courtney Koester	Northwestern University	Basketball, lacrosse
Indiana	Kate Endress	Ball State University	Basketball
Kansas	Kendra Wecker	Kansas State University	Basketball
Kentucky	Stephanie Leimbach	Northern Kentucky University	Softball
Louisiana	Janice Ezegbunam	Southeastern Louisiana University	Track and field
Massachusetts	Jennifer Walker	Bentley College	Field hockey
Maryland	Stephanie LaGue	Goucher College	Swimming
Maine	Kelly Cyr	Saint Joseph's College (Maine)	Soccer
Michigan	Lindsey Gallo	University of Michigan	Cross country, track and field
Minnesota	Heather Hamilton	University of Minnesota Duluth	Track and field
Missouri	Sara Murray	Truman State University	Soccer
Mississippi	Bernadette Sayles	Delta State University	Basketball
Montana	Margot Merrill-Johnson	Montana State University-Billings	Soccer, tennis
North Carolina	Shannon Davis	Winston-Salem State University	Bowling, softball
North Dakota	Kinsey Coles	North Dakota State University	Cross country, track and field
Nebraska	Richelle Simpson	University of Nebraska, Lincoln	Gymnastics
New Hampshire	Erin Osborn	Dartmouth College	Lacrosse, soccer
New Jersey	Mary Mewherter	Georgian Court University	Basketball, soccer
New Mexico	Christina Spence	University of New Mexico	Golf
Nevada	Alyssa Chin	University of Nevada	Swimming
New York	Kate Chambers	Hartwick College	Water polo
Ohio	Jill Boo	Denison University	Swimming
Oklahoma	Valentina Medina	Oklahoma State University	Cross country, track and field
Oregon	Julie Elliott	University of Portland	Track and field
Pennsylvania	Deirdre Dlugonski	Pennsylvania State University	Swimming
Puerto Rico	Yarisel Rodríguez	University of Puerto Rico, Cayey	Track and field, volleyball
Rhode Island	Carly Muise	Bryant University	Softball
South Carolina	Janiva Willis	Winthrop University	Softball
South Dakota	Marci Miller	University of South Dakota	Track and field
Tennessee	Lauryn McCalley	University of Tennessee, Knoxville	Swimming
Texas	Jamie Carey	University of Texas at Austin	Basketball
Utah	Lindsey Metcalf	Brigham Young University	Track and field, volleyball
Virginia	Lindsay Hagerman	Washington and Lee University	Tennis
Vermont	Brittany Cronin	Middlebury College	Soccer
Washington	Corrie McDaniel	Seattle Pacific University	Gymnastics
Wisconsin	Tara Schmitt	University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point	Basketball, soccer, track and field
West Virginia	Lauren Deschamps	Wheeling Jesuit University	Soccer
Wyoming	Shauna Smith	University of Wyoming	Track and field