NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Two stellar student-athletes have been selected as the Atlantic 10 Conference nominees for the notable NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Davidson award-winning swimmer Siena Senn and Massachusetts track & field standout Kira Kopec were named the league candidates for one of the NCAA’s most prestigious honors.
Both were chosen as the conference nominees by the Atlantic 10’s Senior Woman Administrators (SWAs) based on their academic prowess, athletic achievements, leadership abilities, skills and community involvement. They were selected from a conference-wide pool of outstanding institutional nominees representing nine different sports and 12 A-10 member institutions.
"It is an honor to nominate both Siena and Kira as the A-10 nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. They have each elevated to a high level of success in their sports, the classroom and demonstrated leadership skills beyond their age," stated Bernadette V. McGlade, Commissioner. "Siena has rewritten the swimming record books at Davidson College, graduating as the 2022 Valedictorian and deserves to be saluted! Kira led her team to the A-10 Outdoor Track Championship, impacted her local community as a lead volunteer representing the best in student-athlete leadership. Congratulations are in order!"
Per the NCAA, all conference-level nominees are forwarded to the Woman of the Year selection committee. The selection committee will choose the top 10 honorees in each division. From among those 30 honorees, the selection committee will determine the three finalists in each division. Finally, the members of the Committee on Women’s Athletics will vote from among the top nine finalists to determine the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year. The top 30 honorees will be honored, and the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced this fall.
Senn graduated as Davidson's 2022 Valedictorian and Summa Cum Laude and is an early inductee to Phi Beta Kappa. A four-time Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient, she is a member of Sigma Delta Pi (National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society), has received multiple academic scholarships and grants and was the 2022 winner of Davidson's Rebecca E. Stimson Award, which is presented to the top Wildcat female athlete in recognition of outstanding dedication and contribution to intercollegiate athletics.
Senn holds the 800 freestyle relay record at Davidson, and is an A-10 champion in the 500 freestyle and the 800 free relay. She has also won silver medals at the A-10 in the 400 and 800 free, and bronze medals in the 200 and 1650 free, as well as the 200 and 400 free relay.
Senn volunteered her time teaching Spanish to third graders and serving as a board member at the Rusk Eating House, executing philanthropic events to fight hunger and food insecurity in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area. She also served on the Health Justice Committee, worked with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the People's Health Clinic and was the Social Justice Committee Representative for Davidson College Swimming and Diving.
Kopec is an A-10 Champion, both individually and as part of the UMass Women's Track & Field Team that won the 2022 Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championship. She holds A-10 gold medals in the pentathlon (2020 and 2022), setting the league record in 2022. She's also a member of the UMass 4x400 relay team that holds the school record.
A team leader and spokesperson for her teammates, Kopec’s also an eight-time Dean's List honoree and while also serving as a member of the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, the Atlantic 10 Track & Field All-Academic Team and Alpha Chi Sigma. Her scholastic career culminated with earning the UMass Athletics Scholar Athlete award and an A-10 Postgraduate Scholarship in 2022.
Kopec was also very active in volunteering, serving as President of the International Student-Athlete Association while also serving as a Track & Field Group Teacher for a local youth clinic and local elementary schools. She assisted in medical administration of Transcranial Magnetic Therapy in depressive patients through an internship, and was an academic aid and teaching assistant in the UMass Microbiology department.
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 31st year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.