NEWPORT NEWS, Va. —The Atlantic 10 Conference has named two outstanding student-athletes as nominees for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Richmond women’s lacrosse standout Arden Tierney and VCU field hockey star Litiana Field were chosen the league candidates for one of the NCAA’s most celebrated 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 record pool of 17 outstanding institutional nominees, representing nine different sports and 13 A-10 member institutions.
“I would like to offer my congratulations to both Arden Tierney and Litiana Field for their selection as Atlantic 10 Woman of the Year conference honorees. This is a prestigious honor and both women are outstanding selections,” stated A-10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade. “Overall we had an impressive group of 17 nominees for this award, which set a league record and speaks to how successful and well-rounded Atlantic 10 student-athletes are. I offer my congratulations to this entire class of nominees on their exceptional careers!”
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 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year.
Arden Tierney ended her collegiate lacrosse career as the Atlantic 10 Co-Offensive Player of the Year, an All-Conference First Team selection, an All-Championship Team selection, All-American honors and by leading the Spiders to an A-10 title and an NCAA Tournament berth (where UR earned its first-ever postseason win). The three-year team captain, she began as an A-10 All-Rookie selection, marking the first of three straight award-winning years.
Tierney led the A-10 in several statistical categories, ranked second in the country in draw controls (8.0) and. assists (2.0) per game and she set single season and career draw control records at UR. The stats and accolades continue into her academic pursuits, as she graduated Summa cum Laude in 2023, was a three-time member of the Atlantic 10 women's lacrosse All-Academic Team. She was the Robins School of Business Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Most Outstanding Marketing student. She was the Lyon Scholarship recipient in 2023, granted by the UR marketing department.
Tierney served as President of the Richmond Chapter of Morgan's Message and also was a program Ambassador. A Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) mental health liaison and student-athlete peer mentor, she was nominated for the Spider Champion Leaders Program and the Spider Rising Leaders Program. She was a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma business society.
Litiana Field is a six-time Atlantic 10 field hockey postseason honoree, and A-10 Champion and a Rookie All-American. A four-time NFHCA All-South Region selection, she was named to the A-10 All-Conference First Team three times (2022, 2021, 2020), Second Team twice (2018, 2019) and was an All-Rookie honoree in 2018. She played on the Indoor Field Hockey World Cup team for her home country of Australia in 2023. Her international competition experience also includes being a gold medalist for the Australian National Indoor
Team in 2020, won an English national championship with East Grinstead Hockey Club in 2022 and for the U21 Austalian Indoor Team in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Field's academic successes include a spot on the A-10 All-Academic Team in 2022 and being a four-year recipient of the NFHCA All-Academic squad (2019-2022). She also was the VCU Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program fellowship recipient from 2021-2023.
Field was a team captain for four straight years, including leading the Rams to the A-10 Championship in the COVID-delayed 2020 season. She was the vice president of VCU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and also chaired the SAAC DEI Committee.
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.