BURLINGTON, Vt. — UMass Lowell field hockey standout Kelly Freitas received the 2016 America East Woman of the Year award Tuesday evening at the conference’s annual awards dinner in Burlington, Vt. 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, athletic excellence, service and leadership.
The conference’s Senior Woman Administrators narrowed the pool of nine institutional Woman of the Year nominees down to three finalists on May 23, and chose Freitas as the conference winner. The other finalists were University of Maine's basketball student-athlete Liz Wood and University of New Hampshire volleyball student-athlete Victoria Forrest.
To be nominated, student-athletes must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2016 spring season, received her undergraduate degree prior to the conclusion of the summer 2016 term and had a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.500 (4.000 scale).
Freitas will now be forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee to be considered for the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year. The selection committee will select the top 30 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 CWA will vote from among the top nine to determine the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year.
A UMass Lowell graduate, Freitas excelled in all facets of college life embodying the conference’s three pillars of the complete student-athlete. In the classroom, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in graphic design while maintaining a 3.68 GPA. Freitas was also an America East All-Academic selection and was a three-time honor roll recipient while also being a four-time member of NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad.
Freitas made an enormous impact in the Lowell community as a Team IMPACT ambassador and advocate for numerous causes including the Norris Colton Cancer Center. As a result, she earned UMass Lowell’s Chancellor’s Medal for Student Service and the Laurie A. Mann Award for Academic and Athletic Excellence, Leadership and Service.
Freitas was a four-year member of UMass Lowell's field hockey team that became a full Division I program this year. She also served as UMass Lowell's SAAC President and America East liaison.
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 NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics (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
2016 Kelly Freitas, UMass Lowell (field hockey)
2015 Holly Stewart, Maine (field hockey)
2014 Olivia Burne, Stony Brook (cross country/track & field)
2013 Katie Matthews, Boston University (cross country/track & field)
2012 Lucy Van Dalen, Stony Brook (cross country/track & field)
2011 Nikki Branchini, Albany (lacrosse)
2010 Emily Pallotta, Boston U. (soccer)
2009 Kristen Millar, Vermont (lacrosse)
2008 Sarah Hudak, Boston U. (field hockey)
2007 Marisa Ryan, Boston U. (cross country/track & field)
2006 Ashlee Reed, Albany (volleyball)
About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field.