INDIANAPOLIS, IN – St. Catherine University swimming and diving senior Jenna Nagy (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) spent the 2016-17 season cementing her place in the program record books. The senior became the most successful diver in program history, as she earned her third Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Diver of the Year honor and reached the NCAA Championship by winning the 3-meter board at Regional Diving Zones. On Tuesday, it was announced that Nagy was nominated for the prestigious NCAA Women of the Year honor.
The nomination is yet another achievement for Nagy, who won multiple accolades during and after the swimming and diving season. Nagy was named MIAC Diver of the Year for the third time in her career after winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards at the conference championship in February. She also qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time in her career after winning the 3-meter competition at the NCAA Regional Diving Zones and earned All-America Honorable Mention status with two top-16 finishes at nationals.
In addition, Nagy was named the MIAC Athlete-of-the-Week twice in 2016-17 and was the team MVP at the end of the season. She was named St. Kate's Athlete of the Year during the end of the year celebration. Nagy will graduate as the school record holder in three different diving events and is the first diver in program history to earn All-MIAC honors and qualify for regionals all four years of her collegiate career.
Nagy is one of 198 Division III student-athletes nominated for the prestigious honor. Over the summer, the MIAC will evaluate and select two of the nominees to submit to the Woman of the Year selection committee. From these submissions, the selection committee will select the top 30 individuals, 10 from each division, before picking the top three from each division to make up the nine finalists. The winner of the NCAA Woman of the Year honor will be announced in October of 2017.
The NCAA Woman of the Year award was established in 1991 and looks to honor the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership of a graduating female student-athlete in any of the three divisions. Exactly 544 student-athletes were nominated across all divisions, the most ever in the history of the Woman of the Year program.
