NCAA Woman of the Year Nominees | Past NCAA Woman of the Year Winners
Elmira, NY -- Recent Elmira College graduates and former teammates,
Ashley Ryan '15 and
Ashton Hogan '15, are two of 480 female student-athletes nominated for the coveted 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year award.
Now in its 25th year, 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. Of the nominees, 207 competed in Division I, 93 competed in Division II and 180 competed in Division III athletics.
Ryan was a four-year member of the women's ice hockey team and enjoyed one of the most prolific careers of any skater to don the Purple and Gold. The Rochester, NY native finished her Elmira career with 158 points, which ranks third in program history, on 61 goals and 97 assists which also ranks third in EC history.
Her final year with the Soaring Eagles will go down as one of the greatest individual performances the program has ever seen. She was the nation's leading point scorer with 61 points, a mark that ranks second in Elmira history, and was the country's leader in assists with 42 which also set a new EC single-season record. For her efforts she was named the Laura Hurd Award Winner, presented to the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Division III National Player of the Year.
In addition to the player of the year award, Ryan has received numerous accolades throughout her career with some of the major awards including four ECAC West All-Conference Honors, ECAC West Rookie of the Year, ECAC West Player of the Year, D3Hockey.com All-American, two-time AHCA All-American, and USCHO National Player of the Year.
Hogan, a two-sport athlete competing in women's ice hockey and women's lacrosse, was as dominant a scorer in both sports as EC has seen in some time. The Shelburne, Ontario native totaled 50 points on the ice, scoring a nation-leading 32 goals and adding 18 assists. She was the only skater in the country to score 30-plus goals and average over one goal per game and ranked only behind Ryan in points per game.
Hogan concludes her career on the ice with 121 points on 74 goals and 47 assists. She leaves ranked eighth in career points and third in career goals in EC history. She was also an AHCA First Team All-American and an ECAC West All-Conference First Team selection as well.
Although her numbers on the ice were impressive, Hogan was just as steady on the field for the women's lacrosse team. In just 12 games, she led the Soaring Eagles in scoring with 59 points on a team-high 48 goals and 11 assists, while producing the second-most draw controls at 41. Although she did not join the Purple and Gold until the conclusion of her hockey season, Hogan's goal and point totals both ranked tied for fourth in EC single-season history.
Hogan also earned a spot on the Empire 8 All-Conference First Team, becoming the first EC player to be named a first-teamer since 2008. She concludes her three-year lacrosse career with 144 points on 122 goals and 22 assists, ranking third in career points and career goals while ranking tied for 10th in career assists.
Following nominations by each school, conferences will assess each nominee's eligibility and select up to two conference nominees. All conference nominees are forwarded to the Woman of the Year selection committee, which chooses the top 30 honorees – 10 from each division.
From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three nominees from each division and announces the top nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses from among those nine to determine the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year.
The 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced, and the Top 30 honorees celebrated, at the annual award ceremony Oct. 18 in Indianapolis.
