GRINNELL’S MORGAN BOBER NAMED MWC NOMINEE FOR NCAA WOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Grinnell College Athletics
RIPON, Wis. – For the second year in a row, Grinnell College has had a student-athlete be named the Midwest Conference nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Morgan Bober ’12, who competed for the Pioneer women’s swimming and diving team, earned the honor this year after Claire Reeder ’11 claimed it in 2011.
The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors senior student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.
Bober, a Human Rights and Global Development major from Greensboro, N.C., finished a decorated career in the pool which saw her earn a MWC championship in three different seasons, including a championship in the 100-yard and 200 butterfly this past season. Bober also holds the MWC record in the 100 butterfly and was a part of the 200 medley relay record-setting team.
Outside of the pool Bober was a four-year member of the Grinnell Student-Athletic Advisory Com¬mittee, serving as the vice present and as a member of the leadership board. Along with her par¬ticipation in SAAC she was a Special Olympics volunteer for two years and also helped on many other community service projects on campus.
The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics (CWA) manages the nomination process and selections. In the past five years, 663 student-athletes were nominated by their conference or independent institutions, representing multiple ethnicities and all NCAA-sponsored sports within Divisions I, II and III.
In August, the top 10 honorees per division will be announced for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. In September, the field of 30 semifinalists will be narrowed to three per division. The top ten honorees and the nine finalists from Divisions I, II and III will be honored and the 2011 NCAA Woman of the Year winner announced at a dinner in Indianapolis on October 16, 2011.
In 2011 alone, 471 student-athletes were nominated by their institutions. From 1998 through 2005, an average of 410 female student-athletes per year were nominated for the award; and since the program’s inception in 1991, 2200 women have been recognized as state or conference honorees.
