Donegan, Melian Among Top 30 NCAA Woman of Year Honorees
INDIANAPOLIS – A pair of former standout student-athletes in America East, University of New Hampshire’s Laura Rose Donegan and Stony Brook University’s Christina Melian, are among the Top 30 nominees for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year award, the NCAA announced Wednesday.
America East is one of just two conferences across all divisions with multiple Top 30 honorees.
“The Top 30 honorees are remarkable representatives of the thousands of women competing in college sports each year,” said Sarah Hebberd, chair of the Woman of the Year selection committee and director of compliance at Georgia. “They have seized every opportunity available to them on the field of play, in the classroom and in the community, and we are proud to recognize them for their outstanding achievements.”
Donegan, the 2017 America East Woman of the Year, graduated from New Hampshire with a perfect 4.00 in political science. The 2015-16 America East Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Donegan earned America East Presidential Scholar-Athlete accolades and was also was named the NCAA Elite 90 award winner at the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championship for having the highest GPA amongst top finishers. The cross country and track & field standout was a two-time NCAA first-team All-American.
Melian graduated from Stony Brook a with a 3.92 GPA in health science with a concentration in emergency and critical care. An America East Presidential Scholar-Athlete, Elite 17 honoree and three-time Scholar-Athlete, Melian was also a four-time NCAA individual qualifier in cross country and track & field.
Schools nominated a record 543 women for the award this year, which conferences then narrowed to 145 nominees to be considered by the committee. Donegan and Melian are two of just 10 Division I honorees.
The selection committee will announce three women from each division as the nine finalists later this month. From the finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2017 Woman of the Year, who will be named Oct. 22 at a ceremony in Indianapolis.
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.
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