GONZALES, WOODFIELD SELECTED AS CAA'S NCAA WOMAN OF THE YEAR NOMINEES
RICHMOND, Va. (June 18, 2009) ? Candace Gonzales of Georgia State University and Britt Woodfield of Towson University
have been selected as the Colonial Athletic Association nominees for the 2009
NCAA Woman of the Year award.
The NCAA Woman of the Year award honors senior
student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through their collegiate
careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and
leadership. In order to be eligible for the award, nominees must have completed
intercollegiate eligibility in their primary sport, graduated no later than the
end of the 2009 summer term and achieved a minimum cumulative grade-point
average of 2.5.
Gonzales was a midfielder for the Georgia State women’s
soccer team, where she started 59 of her 75 career games and served as team
captain during her final two years. This season, she contributed two goals and
two assists, including a game-winning goal. Gonzales received Georgia State’s
High Five Award, which is given to the senior female student-athlete with the
highest GPA, and the Panther Character Award, which is given to a
student-athlete who is a positive role model through interactions with the
youth in the community, on campus and with their teammates.
A native of North Richland Hills, Texas, Gonzales received
Academic All-District honors in 2009 and was one of 10 finalists nationally for
the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. She was also the recipient of the 2009 Peach of
an Athlete Role Model Award. As a senior, Gonzales served as president of the
Georgia State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Public Relations
Society. The journalism major was a member of several honor societies as well.
Woodfield was a four-year starter for the Towson women’s
lacrosse team and finished her career as the Tigers’ seventh-leading scorer
with 140 points on 98 goals and 42 assists. A co-captain during her final two
years, Woodfield earned second-team All-CAA honors in 2008 and 2009 as Towson
captured back-to-back conference titles.
A native of New Windsor, Md., Woodfield was chosen as the
Tiger Athletic Fund Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a senior. An exercise science and pre-nursing major,
she was named to the Academic All-District second team as a senior and was
named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll as a junior. Woodfield served as
president of Towson’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council, worked as a peer mentor
and participated in the 2008 NCAA Leadership Conference. She was also the
recipient of the James R. Saxon Award, which recognizes one graduating senior
who has demonstrated leadership, service and good citizenship by contributing
significantly to the campus community.
Also nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year honors were Radoslava Bachvarova, a basketball
player from VCU, Megan Flanagan, a
soccer player from VCU, and Maryann
Walker, a swimmer from the University of Delaware.
The top 10 honorees in NCAA Division I, II and III will be
announced in August, followed by the top three honorees per division in
September. The NCAA Woman of the Year
winner will be announced at a dinner in Indianapolis on October 18.