NEW HAVEN, Conn. (June 27, 2019) -- The NCAA announced on Thursday a record 585 female student-athletes were named school nominees for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year award. Seven individuals among the record total are representatives of member schools in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), including Cliona Crammond (Goldey-Beacom College), Steph Donah (Felician University), Rachel Lucia (Caldwell University), Joanne Mamie (Holy Family University), Brianna Root (Post University), Alex Thomas (University of the Sciences) and Caitlyn Whiteside (Wilmington University).

Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers. The NCAA encourages member schools to honor their top graduating female student-athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award.

Next, conferences will select up to two nominees each from the pool of school nominees. Then, the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.

The selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division from the Top 30 and announce the nine finalists in September. From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics then will choose the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year.

The Top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year will be named at the annual award ceremony Oct. 20 in Indianapolis.

The CACC website will profile each of its seven school nominees over the next several weeks in the lead up to the NCAA's next announcement of the conference's nominee later this summer. 

Each of the seven nominees listed above were standouts in their respective sports during the 2018-19 athletic season and their four-year careers, as Crammond was one of the top women's soccer players in the league (All-CACC honors), while Donah earned second-team all-league status in softball. Lucia has been one of the top women's lacrosse players in the CACC during her career, while Mamie has been a part of a Holy Family women's lacrosse program, which has historically been one of the most competitive programs in the conference. Root earned All-CACC honors in volleyball each of her four seasons, including first-team honors on three occasions, and Alex Thomas helped guide the Devils to three-consecutive trips to both the CACC Women's Basketball Championship Final (champs in 2017 & 2018) and the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament. Whiteside has been one of the top softball pitchers in the league and East Region during her career.

The following is the schedule of release for woman-of-the-year nominees and their profile stories:
Monday, July 1 ... Cliona Crammond (Goldey-Beacom College)
Wednesday, July 3 ... Steph Donah (Felician University)
Monday, July 8 ... Rachel Lucia (Caldwell University)
Wednesday, July 10 ... Joanne Mamie (Holy Family University)
Monday July 15 ... Brianna Root (Post University)
Wednesday, July 17 ... Alex Thomas (University of the Sciences)
Monday, July 22 ... Caitlyn Whiteside (Wilmington University)

ABOUT THE CACC
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (N.Y.) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University), Nyack College, Post University of Waterbury, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.