Former Oregon State gymnast Mandi Rodriguez has been named as a nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year as announced by the NCAA Thursday.
More than 140 NCAA female student-athletes representing multiple sports across Divisions I, II and III have been selected as 2011 Woman of the Year nominees by their athletic conferences and by independent institutions.
The Woman of the Year Award, now in its 21st year, honors female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academic achievement, athletic excellence, community service and leadership. 2010 Woman of the Year Justine Schluntz was an NCAA swimming champion and 2010 Rhodes Scholar from the University of Arizona.
Nomination submissions for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year program continue to grow, with a record 471 nominations received for this year’s program, an increase of 19 over last year. Every NCAA member institution is encouraged to honor its top graduating female student-athlete by submitting her name for consideration. Each conference assesses the eligibility of its members’ nominees and selects at least one student-athlete to represent the conference. To be eligible for the award, a female student-athlete must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2011 spring season, graduated no later than the end of the summer 2011 term and achieved a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.5.
Rodriguez was a seven-time All-American during her career at Oregon State earning Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year honors as a junior in 2009. She was a finalist for the AAI Award, annually awarded to the top senior gymnast in the nation in 2010. Rodriguez earned All-American accolades on the vault three times and on the floor exercise and all-around twice each. At the 2010 NCAA Championships, Rodriguez finished third overall on the vault in Individual Event Finals – the best finish of her career. Rodriguez graduated with a degree in Exercise and Sport Science in June.
With the 142 conference nominees selected, a committee composed of representatives from NCAA member schools and athletic conferences will select 10 nominees from each of the three divisions to compose the Top 30 nominees, who will be announced in late August. The selection committee will then narrow the Top 30 to three finalists from each division to form the Top Nine, which will be announced in early September. From the Top Nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will select the national winner. The 2011 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced during the Woman of the Year dinner in Indianapolis on Sunday, October 16.
