Nine former student-athletes have been named finalists for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year award, the NCAA recently announced.
The award recognizes graduating female college athletes that “demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers,” with three finalists named from each division.
Among the finalists is Johns Hopkins swimmer Mikayla Bisignani, a two-time CSCAA All-American, including first-team honors in 2019.
Bisignani, one of the Division III nominees, was a multi-sport athlete, also competing in outdoor track and field for the Blue Jays, including placing 13th in discus while helping Johns Hopkins to a program-best third-place finish at the 2019 Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Bisignani, who majored in both molecular and cellular biology and psychology, was awarded the Dr. William Howard Award for scholarship and athletic achievement by Johns Hopkins in 2021, along with the Robert H. Scott Award for athletics, scholarship and extracurricular participation
Bisignani was one of three swimming & diving athletes to be among the Top 30 Woman of the Year honorees, joined by divers Abigail Knapton (Nebraska, D1) and Lindsey Ruderman (Amherst College, D3).
The Top 30 were made up of 10 women from each division, with schools having nominated a total of 535 graduating female student-athletes for the award.
NCAA WOMAN OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
- Mikayla Bisignani, Johns Hopkins (D3), Swimming & Diving/Outdoor Track & Field
- Anna Cockrell, USC (D1), Indoor Track & Field/Outdoor Track & Field
- Kendall Cornick, Augustana (D2), Softball
- Stefani Deschner, Notre Dame (D1), Fencing
- Naomi Hill, North Central (Illinois) (D3), Triathlon
- Alison Johnson, Adelphi (D2), Lacrosse
- Eka Jose, WashU (D3), Indoor Track & Field/Outdoor Track & Field
- Avery Skinner, Kentucky (D1), Volleyball
- Irisa Ye, University of the Sciences (D2), Basketball
The 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced during a virtual awards ceremony on Tuesday, November 9 at 7:30 pm ET. The finalists and Top 30 honorees will also be celebrated. The show will be streamed on the NCAA Twitter account and ncaa.org/woty.
We don’t have to go far back to find the last swimming & diving athletes to win the award—Kentucky swimmer Asia Seidt was the 2020 award winner, with a total of 13 swimmers or divers earning NCAA Woman of the Year honors dating back to when it was first given in 1991.