BURLINGTON, Vt. - University of Vermont women’s lacrosse standout Kristen Millar was selected from three finalists as the 2009 America East Woman of the Year and will be forwarded to the NCAA to be considered for the national award. The honor recognizes the conference’s senior female student-athlete who has best distinguished herself throughout her collegiate career in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.
The NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee will select the top 10 winners in each NCAA division (I, II and III). From among those 30 honorees, the selection committee will determine the top three in each division. Finally, the members of the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics (CWA) will vote from among the top nine to determine the 2009 NCAA Woman of the Year. As the conference runner-up, University at Albany’s Ashley Ross, a member of the field hockey and lacrosse teams, will also be submitted to the committee.
“I am incredibly proud of the quality of nominees we received this year, and couldn’t be more ecstatic for this year’s America East Woman of the Year,” said America East Conference Commissioner Patrick Nero. “Kristen is a model student-athlete in every facet, and we wish her the best of luck in life beyond the University of Vermont and the America East Conference.”
Millar (Whitby, Ontario) was a four-time team MVP as a midfielder for the University of Vermont women’s lacrosse team, and a team captain since 2007. She owns nearly every program record, as well as the NCAA record for career draw controls, and was named UVM’s top female senior athlete, earning the J. Edward Donnelly Award at the department’s end of year banquet. Millar is a two-time America East All-Championship Team member, two-time WomensLacrosse.com All-American and three-time IWLCA Regional All-American. In her senior campaign, Millar was a unanimous selection to the America East First Team and All-Academic Team. She’s served on multiple levels of the Canadian National Team, including the 2007 U19 National Team where she earned World Cup All-World Team accolades.
For the second straight year, Millar was named to the ESPN The Magazine, CoSIDA All-District At-Large Team with a 3.64 GPA in elementary education. The Dean’s List student earned a spot on the America East Academic Honor Roll as a freshman and on the Commissioner’s Honor Roll, for a GPA of 3.5 or higher, as a sophomore and junior. In 2008, Millar was also named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll.
Off the field and out of the classroom, Millar has spent much time serving as the SAAC Committee Outreach Leader and being active in her community. She volunteered with the Vermont Special Olympics as a Team Leader and taught youngsters the importance of fitness as a representative of the Get 60 program. Millar was also a camp counselor for the UVM Adventure Day Camp, a 40 hour per week commitment for eight weeks out of the year.
Ross (Lancaster, Pa.) was a two-year team captain for the 2008 America East Champion Albany field hockey team, which made its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance this year, and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player last fall as the starting goalkeeper. She is the program’s all-time leader in saves (318) and shutouts (15) after shutting out five opponents in 22 starts in 2008. Also a member of the women’s lacrosse team this spring, Ross was a three-time field hockey all-conference honoree and an all-rookie team member in 2005. In 2007, she was named to the National Field Hockey Coaches’ Association (NFHCA) Regional Second Team.
The NFHCA also recognized Ross for her academic excellence, naming her to the National Academic Squad in each of her four years. She was a Dean’s List student-athlete, named to the America East All-Academic Team each season since she was eligible and was a University at Albany Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll member since her freshman year. Ross, a communications major with a 3.70 grade-point average, was inducted into both the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Lambda Pi Eta, the society for communicators. At Albany’s end of year banquet, she was awarded the ECAC Merit Medal as the school’s top senior female student-athlete and the James E. Lowe ?82 Memorial Scholarship.
Ross was also active in the community, both on campus and off campus. She was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) as a senior, serving on the SAAC Excecutive Committee, and participated in UAlbany Day 2009 and the annual Campus Clean Up. Ross coached local high school field hockey programs 2-3 hours a week throughout her collegiate career, and also taught physical education classes at Smoketown Elementary School for eight weeks out of the year, 25 hours per week.
Three finalists, which were announced on May 27, were selected from a pool of the 11 America East institutional nominations. To be nominated, student-athletes must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2009 spring season, received her undergraduate degree prior to the conclusion of the summer 2009 term and had a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.500 (4.000 scale).
In conjunction with the changes in the nomination process for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, the America East Woman of the Year award was established for the 2005-06 athletic season. Beginning in 2006, the CWA started receiving conference-designated nominees in lieu of the previous institution- and state-based nomination format.
Year-by-Year America East Woman of the Year Honorees
2009 Kristen Millar, Vermont (women’s lacrosse)
2008 Sarah Hudak, Boston U. (field hockey)
2007 Marisa Ryan, Boston U. (cross country/track & field)
2006 Ashlee Reed, Albany (volleyball)