2016 NCAA Woman of the Year Nominees Named

WORCESTER, Mass. – After being named Worcester State University’s Margaret “Peg” Nugent Scholar Athlete Award at the Lancers’ annual senior awards banquet, senior indoor and outdoor track & field captain, Francesca Casasanta (Milford, Mass.), has been recognized as an NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee.

“I feel extremely grateful for the opportunity to be nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year,” expressed Casasanta. “I’m honored that I was considered for this award among the many talented senior female athletes at Worcester State University.”

This year, NCAA member schools have nominated 517 student-athletes for the 2016 Woman of the Year award. 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.

This pool of school honorees marks the largest in the 26-year history of the award. Of the nominees for the national award, 231 competed in Division I, 117 competed in Division II and 169 competed in Division III athletics. The nominees also represent 21 different women’s sports, and 127 of the nominees competed in more than one sport in college.

Athletically, Casasanta competed in jumps for both the indoor and outdoor seasons of the Lancers’ track & field squad. She qualified for Division III New England and ECAC Championships in the high jump in three seasons and qualified for Division III New England Championships in numerous jump categories all four seasons with the Blue and Gold.

Not only a leader on the track & field team, but she also led by example in the classroom. She was a four-time MASCAC All-Academic recipient, two-time dean’s list student, and a member of the National College Athlete Honor Society “Chi Alpha Sigma”. She was recognized on the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Association All-Academic team as well as a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Howard C. Smith Scholar Athlete Nominee. Casasanta also was an active member of Worcester State’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Casasanta graduated in the spring of 2016 with a degree in Public Health.

“Track and field has opened up so many doors for me and there is no other way I would want to end my career as a Worcester State Lancer,” added Casasanta.

Portions of this Release Courtesy of NCAA Media Relations