NEWPORT NEWS, Va.—The Atlantic 10 Conference announced Wednesday the eight institutional nominees for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Award. These impressive student-athletes represent five A-10 sports and eight different A-10 institutions.
The institutions selected their candidates for being standout student-athletes who have had robust academic success, complimented by competitive athletic resumes, while sustaining dynamic leadership in their communities. The eight candidates have noteworthy credentials, including All-American and Academic All-America honors, conference championships and All-Conference award winners, NCAA Championship success, and campus involvement, including serving as student-athlete leaders as part of the campus, conference and national Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). A brief biography of each candidate, listed alphabetically by institution, is below.
The league’s Senior Woman Administrators will select from the eight candidates the nominee(s) that will represent the Atlantic 10 Conference in the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year program.
One of the most prestigious NCAA awards, the NCAA established the Woman of the Year Award in 1991 to celebrate the achievements of women in intercollegiate athletics. Now in its 26th year, this unique award recognizes the athletic achievements of outstanding young women, as well as their academic achievements, community service and leadership. To be eligible, these women must have competed and earned a varsity letter in an NCAA-sponsored sport and must have completed eligibility in their primary sport.
2016 NCAA WOMAN OF THE YEAR INSTITUTIONAL HONOREES
Ashley Campbell | University of Dayton
Women’s Soccer | Hometown: Gilford, Ontario | Major: Exercise Science
Dayton's all-time leading goal scorer, Campbell amassed several awards during her four years with the Flyers. She led the Flyers to a 2013 A-10 regular season title, and the 2014 A-10 Championship and NCAA Tournament berth. A two-time Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year and four-time All-Conference selection, she broke UD's women's soccer record for career goals with 63. She also was a two-time NSCAA Division I Women's All-Mid-Atlantic Region selection. Named one of the top 30 players for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award, she earned Academic All-Ohio for three consecutive seasons and was a three-time Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award winner. Campbell was a member of the U-20 Canadian Women's National Team that was a 2014 FIFA World Cup quarterfinalist, playing in all four matches with a start versus Finland). Since 2012 she has participated in Christmas on Campus, and for two years she volunteered with Top Soccer, teaching and playing soccer with special needs children. Her community service endeavors also include helping with the annual "Kicks for Kids" event in 2013, teaching soccer to special needs children, and sponsoring, along with her teammates, a "Green Dot" match to provide awareness and prevention of sexual assault. Campbell and the Flyers walked in many Breast Cancer awareness events and participated in the Anti-Bullying Rally in Dayton, Ohio. She also helped out on campus, volunteering at the Flyer 5K fundraising race.
April Robinson | Duquesne University
Women’s Basketball | Hometown: Springfield, Va. | Major: Management
Robinson, a four-year starter, was one of 10 finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award which is presented annually to the nation’s top point guard. The senior captain, who led the Dukes to the program’s first-ever NCAA Championship appearance in 2015-16, finished her career ranked first on the DU record list in games started/played (133) and 3-pointers (249), second in assists (578) and fourth in total points (1,598) on her way to being named a WBCA Division I Coaches Honorable Mention All-American. The 2015-16 Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference pick also earned a spot on the A-10 All-Academic Team. The Springfield, Va. native, who graduated cum laude in December with her bachelor’s degree in management and is currently pursuing her master’s in business administration, has participated in numerous team volunteer activities, most recently lending support and camaraderie to a young cancer survivor.
Jessica Widmann | Fordham University
Women’s Soccer | Hometown: East Meadow, N.Y. | Major: Communications and Media Studies
Jessica Widmann capped her Fordham women’s soccer career with an outstanding season, earning 2015 First Team NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region, First Team All-Atlantic 10 and Second Team ECAC All-Star accolades. She led Fordham in goals (12), assists (5), and points (29), while tying for the team-lead in game-winning goals with five. The 12 goals and 29 points tied for the third-most by a Ram in a single season. She earned Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week honors once this year and led the Rams to the title game of the Atlantic 10 Championship, earning a spot on the 2015 Atlantic 10 All-Championship Team in the process. Widmann was also named a co-recipient of the 2015-16 Claire & Jack Hobbs Memorial Award as the Fordham Female Student-Athlete of the Year. Academically, Widmann earned 2015 Third Team CoSIDA Academic All-American® honors and was named to the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for the third straight year. Widmann graduates from Fordham as one of the all-time women’s soccer greats. This season she climbed into top six at Fordham in career goals (sixth - 19), assists (tied for second - 14), points (sixth - 52), and games started (tied for first – 75).
Brooke Stoller | George Washington University
Women’s Soccer | Hometown: Newton, Mass. | Major: Finance and Marketing
Stoller led the Colonials to an Atlantic 10 regular season title in her stellar senior season in the Buff and Blue. In more minutes (1,691) than any other Colonial, Stoller led GW's back line and helped the Colonials to a league-best 0.77 goals-against average. She was tabbed as the squad's MVP en route to her selection as the league's Defensive Player of the Year along with a spot on the A-10 All-Conference First Team. The Newton, Mass., native also landed on the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic All-Region First Team and was named an ECAC Second-Team All-Star after helping the Colonials tie a program record with 15 wins while setting a new program mark with 13 consecutive wins. A 2015 NSCAA Scholar All-America Third Team awardee, Stoller landed on the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll seven times in her career, while earning a spot on GW's Athletics Academic Dean's List in all eight semesters. The defender also displayed a strong sense of community, consistently volunteering during her career, including over 10 hours of service as a senior through various projects around the District such as KIPP DC Field Day and the Indian Village Building Project. Stoller completed internships during each summer of her career, leading to a full-time position with the TJX Companies upon graduation.
Alli Waddington | La Salle University
Softball | Hometown: Jamison, Pa. | Major: Communication & Spanish
Waddington was a four-year member of the La Salle softball team, earning a varsity letter in each of her four years. She helped lead the Explorers to back-to-back appearances in the Atlantic 10 Championship in 2014 and 2015. A member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll and the La Salle Faculty Athletic Committee Honor Roll, Waddington was the La Salle Student-Athlete Community Service Award winner and served as the President of the La Salle Student Ambassadors. She was named to the Dean’s List and was a member of the Sigma Delta Pi Spanish Honor Society, the Lambda Pi Eta Communication Honor Society, the Alpha Epsilon Alumni Honor Society, the Golden Key National Honor Society and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. Waddington has also held internship positions with the Philadelphia Eagles and the National Kidney Foundation. She was the Promotions Director at WEXP, the La Salle student radio station, served on the Student Communication Board and volunteered within the La Salle Athletic Department. She has also been involved with the Broad Street Ministry as a campus ambassador and the Signum Fidei co-ed community service fraternity.
Abbey Miklitsch | University of Rhode Island
Women’s Rowing | Hometown: York, Pa. | Major: Psychology and Criminology
Beginning as a walk-on student-athlete, Miklitsch parlayed her opportunities to compete for the Rams into being a three-year varsity letter recipient. A two-time conference champion, her biggest accomplishments have come out of the water. She was named a 2016 Fulbright Scholarship Winner and won the URI Sociology Department Outstanding Senior Academic Achievement Award in 2016. A member of the A-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll and URI Dean’s List in every semester she was at Rhode Island, she also was a member of Psi Chi, an International Psychology Honor Society and Alpha Kappa Delta, the International Sociology Honor Society. Honored with academic and athletic scholarships, her leadership abilities led to Miklitsch being a finalist for the 2015 Robert A Rainville Leadership Award Finalist. Those leadership abilities also led to rowing accolades, as she was named a Junior Leadership Team Member and a Novice Teammate Mentor from 2014 to 2016. Her leadership also included serving on the campus, A-10 and NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC), representing conference student-athletes on the A-10 Branding Subcomittee, serving as the Division I student-athlete representative on the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects, and participating in the It’s On Us campaign as a Division I SAAC committee member. Her volunteer opportunities have included serving as a research assistant at the URI Cancer Research and Prevention Center, as an assistant counselor for the Rhode Island Training School and as a Behavior Technician at the Pathways Strategic Teaching Center.
Melissa Ross | University of Richmond
Women’s Swimming | Hometown: Chalfont, Pa. | Major: Biology
Ross was a part of four Atlantic 10 Championships as a member of the swimming and diving program, which has won 14 of the last 15 A-10 titles. In 2015, she won gold in the 200 fly. She has numerous academic accolades including Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society member, the 2015 Scholar Athlete of the Year for the School of Arts and Sciences, a University of Richmond Presidential Scholar, and a three-time USA Swimming Scholastic All-American. Most recently, Ross was the recipient of the Duke University School of Medicine Dean’s Scholarship. In addition to her excellence in the pool and the classroom, Ross was active in the community. She volunteered at St. Mary’s Hospital, was involved in the Alpha Phi Omega community service fraternity, campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and Youth Life Foundation of Richmond. She also founded the annual Swim A Lap, Save a Life Swimathon, which has raised nearly $200,000 for local pediatric medical causes including the CHOP Oncology Center and Center for Autism, Doylestown Hospital, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Katie Healy | St. Bonaventure University
Women’s Basketball | Hometown: Lancaster, N.Y. | Major: Marketing
A three-year member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Healy was a four-year Dean’s List honoree at St. Bonaventure University. She was also named to the 2016 Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team and the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. She received Atlantic 10 First Team All-Conference honors in 2014 and 2016, was named Second Team All-Conference in 2015 and was named the league’s Most Improved Player in 2014. During her senior campaign, she led St. Bonaventure to its second-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament and helped the Bonnies advance to the second round. Healy has also served as a student ambassador, assisted with Alumni Weekends, worked as an intern at 105.9 WGWE, taught basketball skills at Women in Sports Day and helped raise money for Cystic Fibrosis while participating in the Cystic Fibrosis Walk.