Eastern Michigan Athletics
Valentin Named NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee
7/17/2018 10:06:00 AM | Gymnastics
581 student-athletes were nominated for the 2018 Woman of the Year award
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) - Eastern Michigan University gymnastics alumnus Kendall Valentin was selected as a nominee for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year award Thursday, July 12. The NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academics, athletics, service, and leadership.
Valentin's nomination is the first by an EMU student-athlete since Julia Lombardi (women's soccer) received the recognition in 2016.
This news comes a month after Valentin was awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship as one of 29 women's winter sports recipients. The scholarship recognizes student-athletes with plans on attending graduate school for their athletic and academic achievements, along with their work in the community and demonstrated leadership.
Throughout her time as an Eagle, Valentin earned First Team All-American honors for the first time in program history, qualified as an individual to the NCAA Regional Championship three times, garnered multiple All-Mid-American Conference awards, was appointed the 2018 MAC Medal of Excellence, nabbed a pair of MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete honors, and was on the Academic All-MAC Team in each year she has been eligible.
As one of EMU's most consistent performers throughout her gymnastics career representing the Green and White, Valentin continued her dominance in 2018. The senior qualified for the NCAA Regional Championship on bars with an RQS of 9.865, while also serving as an alternate on beam with an RQS of 9.855. Through her last campaign, Valentin produced scores of 9.75-or-better on bars in nine of the 11 meets she competed in, earned a score of 9.825-or-greater seven times in the event, and tallied a 9.875-or-better on beam and bars a total of eight times.
The Holmdel, N.J. native tied her impressive personal-record of 9.95 on bars, March 11, which also ties the program record and makes her the only Eagle to ever reach the mark twice. A senior biology student, Valentin became the first gymnast in program history to earn Google Cloud Academic All-District® Team honors from CoSIDA. Moreover, Valentin was selected as an American Athletic Inc. (AAI) Award semi-finalist, which is given to the most outstanding senior female gymnast in the country.
For 28 years, this program has honored the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership of outstanding female college athletes. Rooted in Title IX and directed by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics, the NCAA Woman of the Year program celebrates the accomplishments of female college athletes across all three NCAA divisions. In 2018, more than 200,000 women are playing college sports, and the NCAA received a program record of 581 nominations for this prestigious award.
Conference nominations are forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year Selection Committee, which identifies the top 10 honorees in each of the three NCAA divisions. From those 30 candidates, the selection committee then determines the three finalists in each division for a total of nine finalists.
The Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year from the nine finalists. The 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced Sunday, Oct. 28, at an awards dinner in Indianapolis.
Valentin's nomination is the first by an EMU student-athlete since Julia Lombardi (women's soccer) received the recognition in 2016.
This news comes a month after Valentin was awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship as one of 29 women's winter sports recipients. The scholarship recognizes student-athletes with plans on attending graduate school for their athletic and academic achievements, along with their work in the community and demonstrated leadership.
Throughout her time as an Eagle, Valentin earned First Team All-American honors for the first time in program history, qualified as an individual to the NCAA Regional Championship three times, garnered multiple All-Mid-American Conference awards, was appointed the 2018 MAC Medal of Excellence, nabbed a pair of MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete honors, and was on the Academic All-MAC Team in each year she has been eligible.
As one of EMU's most consistent performers throughout her gymnastics career representing the Green and White, Valentin continued her dominance in 2018. The senior qualified for the NCAA Regional Championship on bars with an RQS of 9.865, while also serving as an alternate on beam with an RQS of 9.855. Through her last campaign, Valentin produced scores of 9.75-or-better on bars in nine of the 11 meets she competed in, earned a score of 9.825-or-greater seven times in the event, and tallied a 9.875-or-better on beam and bars a total of eight times.
The Holmdel, N.J. native tied her impressive personal-record of 9.95 on bars, March 11, which also ties the program record and makes her the only Eagle to ever reach the mark twice. A senior biology student, Valentin became the first gymnast in program history to earn Google Cloud Academic All-District® Team honors from CoSIDA. Moreover, Valentin was selected as an American Athletic Inc. (AAI) Award semi-finalist, which is given to the most outstanding senior female gymnast in the country.
For 28 years, this program has honored the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership of outstanding female college athletes. Rooted in Title IX and directed by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics, the NCAA Woman of the Year program celebrates the accomplishments of female college athletes across all three NCAA divisions. In 2018, more than 200,000 women are playing college sports, and the NCAA received a program record of 581 nominations for this prestigious award.
Conference nominations are forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year Selection Committee, which identifies the top 10 honorees in each of the three NCAA divisions. From those 30 candidates, the selection committee then determines the three finalists in each division for a total of nine finalists.
The Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year from the nine finalists. The 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced Sunday, Oct. 28, at an awards dinner in Indianapolis.
Players Mentioned
AA
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