Atlantic 10 Release
Newport News, Va. - Atlantic 10 Conference institutions nominated 14 impressive student-athletes for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Award, including Fordham senior rower
Kat Napoli. These exceptional student-athletes, which were announced Monday by the A-10, represent seven sports and 11 different A-10 institutions.
One of the most prestigious NCAA awards, the NCAA established the Woman of the Year Award in 1991 to celebrate the achievements of women in intercollegiate athletics. Now in its 28th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
The 2018 Atlantic 10 institutional nominees are recognized for being standout citizens with robust academic success, complemented by competitive athletic resumes, while sustaining dynamic leadership in their communities. The 14 candidates have noteworthy credentials, including All-American and Academic All-District honors, conference championships and All-Conference award winners, NCAA Championship success, and campus involvement, including serving as student-athlete leaders. A brief biography of each candidate, listed alphabetically by institution, is below.
The league's Senior Woman Administrators will vote on 13 of the nominees to select two who will represent the Atlantic 10 Conference as 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year finalists. One nominee, gymnast Cami Drouin-Allaire of George Washington, competes in a sport which is not sponsored by the Atlantic 10, and will be considered from among a national pool of candidates.
After the Atlantic 10 and all other leagues have selected 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 and announces the nine finalists. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine. The top 30 honorees will be recognized and the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 28 in Indianapolis.
Catherine Napoli | Fordham University
Rowing | Hometown: Norristown, Pa. | Major: Communication and Cultural Studies (Psychology minor)
• A four-year varsity rower (two years with the Varsity 8+) and the bow seat of the Varsity 8+ crew in 2018-19.
• A three-time CRCA National Scholar-Athlete. Named to the 2017 and 2018 Atlantic 10 All-Academic teams.
• A member of the 2017-18 Fordham varsity 8, a boat which closed out the season with a third place showing at the Dad Vail Championship.
• A member of the varsity 8 that finished third at the 2018 Murphy Cup and fourth at the 2018 Atlantic 10 Championships.
• Fordham Varsity 8 earned Atlantic 10 Boat of the Week honors once in 2018.
• Placed in the Top 10 6k Ergometer Times in Fordham Lightweight Women Rowing History (2017).
• Placed in Top 10 2k Ergometer Times in Fordham Lightweight Women Rowing History 2017) Recipient of the 2018 John Kieran Award, presented to a Fordham College at Rose Hill student-athlete who has made significant contributions in the classroom as well as in their sport.
• Gave back to her Fordham community by serving as a Eucharistic Minister, volunteering at Murray-Weigel Hall (the infirmary and retirement home for Jesuits), POTS (Part of the Solution) homeless shelter, and working on FDM (Fordham Dance Marathon) raising funds for pediatric cancer research.
• Served as an RA for three years (receiving the "Programmer of the Year" award in 2018).
• Graduated Summa Cum Laude.
• A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Sgma Nu, Phi Kappa Phi, and Lambda Pi Eta.
• Dean's List student all four years.
