Indianapolis, Ind. – Former University of Wisconsin-La Crosse gymnast Amy Enright of Lake Elmo, Minn. (H.S.) has been named one of the Top 30 honorees for the 2018 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Woman of the Year Award, the NCAA announced Thursday. Selected from a record 581 school nominees, a group that was narrowed to 154 nominees by conference offices, the Top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the three NCAA division. Enright was named the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) nominee July 31.
Now in its 28th 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. NCAA member colleges and universities nominated 581 student-athletes, the most ever in the history of the program. Of the 581 nominees, 251 competed in NCAA Division I, 131 competed in Division II and 199 competed in Division III athletics.
To be eligible, a nominee must have competed and earned a varsity letter in an NCAA-sponsored sport, must have completed eligibility in her primary sport, and must have earned her undergraduate degree by summer 2018.
The selection committee will announce the nine finalists, including three women from each NCAA division, in early October. From those finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will select the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year. The Top 30 will be celebrated and the Woman of the Year announced October 28 at a ceremony at the Westin Indianapolis. All school and conference honorees receive an NCAA certificate and will be recognized on ncaa.org.
Enright joins Adeoluwa Ayoola of the University of Chicago (Ill.), Amelia Glueck of Illinois Wesleyan University, Kayla Griffith of Lake Forest College (Ill.), Annika Halverson of Bethel University (Minn.), Kayla Leland of Whitworth University (Wash.), Kirsten Littlefield of University of Mary Washington (Va.), Whitney Lloyd of the University of St. Thomas (Minn.), Amelia Wilhelm of Bates College (Maine) and Julia Wilson of Kenyon College (Ohio) as finalists for NCAA Division III.
Click here for the complete list of Top 30 honorees. Enright is the only gymnast among the 30 selections.
“I’m so amazed by all the support I’ve received throughout my collegiate career and this selection process, and I can’t express how grateful I am for my experience as a student-athlete at UW-La Crosse,” said Enright. “I want to say a special thank you to my incredible head coaches Kasey Crawford and Barb Gibson for inspiring and empowering their gymnasts every day; my UWL gymnastics family of teammates, assistant coaches, athletic trainers, parents and alumni; my professors and peers at UWL for making learning together so much fun; and Rising Stars Gymnastics Academy for providing a space for my love of the sport to grow from the very beginning. I’m looking forward to meeting the other nominees in Indianapolis!”
A microbiology major with minors in chemistry and Spanish, Enright graduated with a 3.98 grade point average. She was selected to the 2017-18 Google Cloud National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Academic All-America® At-Large First Team, as voted by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Enright earned 2017-18 Google Cloud NCAA III All-District® Six At-Large Team honors. It marked Enright’s third career Academic All-America® At-Large honor after being named to the 2016-17 Academic All-America® NCAA Division III At-Large First Team and to the 2015-16 Academic All-America® At-Large Third Team, as selected by CoSIDA.
She has earned a spot on the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women All-Academic Team the last three seasons and is a four-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll. Enright was named to the 2017-18 National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) Scholar All-America Team. She has appeared on UW-La Crosse’s Dean’s List numerous semesters and received many academic scholarships.
She earned 2018 NCGA All-America honors with a second-place finish on the uneven parallel bars. It was her fifth career NCGA All-America honor, including her fourth on the uneven parallel bars. She won the national title in 2015 while finishing fourth in 2016 and tied for seventh in 2017. Enright was third in the all-around in 2015. Her score of 9.825 in this year’s championships is tied for second in school history. Enright registered a school record score of 9.850 on the uneven parallel bars at the 2015 WIAC/NCGA West Regional Championships. She was a member of UW-La Crosse NCGA championship squads in 2015 and 2016.
Selected the 2017-18 WIAC Judy Kruckman Women’s Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete, Enright placed fourth on the uneven parallel bars and tied for 11th on the floor exercise at the 2018 league championships in helping lead the Eagles to the team title. A three-year team captain, Enright is a two-time WIAC champion on the uneven parallel bars, posting first-place finishes in 2015 and 2016, and helped UW-La Crosse win the conference title in 2016.
Enright is a member of UW-La Crosse’s Microbiology Club and Eta Phi Alpha Honor Society. She has participated in a number of campus and community organizations and activities including: Gundersen Medical Foundation Steppin’ Out In Pink Walk; Big Brothers/Big Sisters; Kids Night Out; Veteran’s Day Breakfast; Move-In Day; Battle-2-Battle Boot Camp; note taker for the UW-La Crosse ACCESS Center to provide detailed notes for classmates with disabilities; and Eagle Topper Program to provide job training opportunities to students with disabilities. Enright has served as a water quality research intern with the U.S. Geological Survey and Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center.
Enright was chosen from a WIAC field that also included Brianna Witter of UW-Oshkosh, Allison Jensen of UW-Platteville, Lydia Meier of UW-Stout and Michaela Matthys of UW-Whitewater.
Press Release Courtesy of UW-La Crosse Athletic Communications