INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Emma Donnelly from the University of Hartford women's soccer team is a nominee for the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year, as announced by the organization. In her four years at Hartford, Donnelly was a huge contributor to helping the Hawks continue their tradition of success both on the field and in the classroom.
The NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academics, athletics, service and leadership.
Donnelly, a standout defender from Kanata, Ontario, was a member of a senior class that posted double-digit win totals in each of her four seasons. She compiled 43 wins in a Hartford uniform, posted a .656 win percentage and won back-to-back America East Regular-Season Championships in 2014 and 2015. A two-time America East All-Conference honoree, Donnelly also helped the Hawks to three America East Championship title game appearances (2012, 2014, 2015).
A two-time team captain who started and played in 76 career matches, Donnelly contributed to 38 shutouts over her career. In 2015, she helped Hartford's defense post an America East-leading 0.55 goals-against average, the 11th-best mark in the nation, while shutting out a league-best nine opponents. During her four seasons, the Hawks combined to concede just 56 goals, an average of 0.73 per game (77 games).
In the classroom, Donnelly has been just as impressive. Last May, she graduated from the College of Engineering, Technology and Architecture with a grade-point average of 3.87 with a degree in biomedical engineering. She has been named to the America East All-Academic Team three times during her career, and was tabbed the league's Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2014.
In addition to receiving four America East Commissioner's Honor Roll nods, Donnelly became the first Hawk in program history to earn three CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team honors, including CoSIDA Academic All-American Third Team distinction in 2014. That year, she also was named Scholar All-Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
This year's pool of school honorees marks the largest in the 26-year history of the award. Of the nominees for the national award, 231 competed in Division I, 117 competed in Division II and 169 competed in Division III athletics. The nominees also represent 21 different women's sports, and 127 of the nominees competed in more than one sport in college.
The NCAA encourages member schools to honor their top graduating female student-athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award. Next, conferences assess their member school nominees and select up to two conference nominees. The Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will then choose the top 30 honorees – 10 from each division.
From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top-three honorees from each division, with the nine finalists being announced in September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses from among those nine to determine the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year.
