2 Knights Earn Nominations for NCAA Woman of the Year
Two UCF athletes have been nominated for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year award, the association announced in a release.
Track & Field’s Cydni Turner and Volleyball’s McKenna Melville are among 577 student-athletes running for the award.
Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award recognizes female student-athletes “who exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers.”
2022 marked the 50th anniversary of Title IX, which bans sex-based discrimination in any educational program or activity that receives funding from the federal government. The NCAA said in a statement that the award is an important opportunity to honor and reflect on the impact of women on intercollegiate sports.
Turner and the 2022 Track & Field team swept the American Athletic Conference indoor and outdoor titles. In the classroom, she made the Dean’s List every semester and earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science, according to UCF Athletics.
Melville, who is returning to UCF with an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19, has played four seasons with the Knights as an outside hitter, winning the AAC title in all of them. She was also named the AAC Player of the Year twice.
In the next step of the selection, each conference will pick up to two members. Then, the Selection Committee will select 10 student-athletes from each division. The Top 30 will be honored and the main award will be given at the 2023 NCAA Convention in San Antonio in January.
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