The University Athletic Association has selected Washington University graduate Lizzy Crist as the Association’s nominee for the 2017 Woman of the Year award.
The NCAA Woman of the Year award, which is in its 27th year, honors graduating female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletic excellence, service, and leadership.
This year, a record 543 women were nominated by NCAA member schools for this year’s NCAA Woman of the Year award. The school nominees represent all three NCAA divisions, with 229 from Division I, 117 from Division II, and 197 from Division III. The nominees competed in 21 different women's sports, and 122 were multisport athletes during their collegiate career.
The top 30 nominees for the 2017 Woman of the Year Award will be announced in August with the finalists selected in September. The 2017 Woman of the Year Award winner will be announced at the NCAA Woman of the Year dinner on Sunday, Oct. 22 in Indianapolis.
The senior soccer goalkeeper was recently named the 2017 NCAA Division III Athlete of the Year, becoming the fifth Washington University student-athlete to earn the award and the first since 2000-01. Crist was the 2016 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division III Player of the Year after helping lead the Bears to the 2016 NCAA Division III national championship. She was also the D3soccer.com Goalkeeper of the Year and an NSCAA, HERO Sports, and D3soccer.com first team All-America selection.
Crist, who earned first team All-Association honors for the second consecutive season, started 23 games in goal for the Bears and recorded a 19-1-2 mark with a single-season school record 0.29 goals against average. She also set the single-season school record with 13 shutouts, and tied the single-season win total. Crist led the UAA and ranked fifth in NCAA Division III in goals allowed (6) and goals against average.
She regularly tutored several St. Louis girls in elementary level English and math, with a focus on empowering those from disadvantaged backgrounds, showing students they could achieve their goals in spite of language, socioeconomic, and/or racial barriers.
A three-time UAA All-Academic honoree, Crist was a 2016 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) first team Academic All-America selection. She earned the Washington University Department of Biomedical Engineering Outstanding Senior Achievement Award and the Ethan A.H. Shepley Award in recognition of her leadership, scholarship, and service to the community.
She graduated with a 3.90 grade point average while majoring in biomedical engineering, and will enroll in the University of Minnesota Biomedical Engineering PhD program in the fall. She plans to devote herself to promoting female students to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
Crist earned the UAA Woman of the Year selection amongst an impressive list of nominees:
Michaela Friedman, Brandeis University:
A two-time All-American defender who helped the Judges reach three consecutive NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Championships. She was a three-time Dean's List student who received degrees in Health: Science, Society and Policy and in sociology from Brandeis in May. In addition to serving as a team captain this year, she also served as a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee officer and was a vice president of the Brandeis chapter of Be Bold, Be Bald as a junior. Friedman also served as one of the Judges' liaisons with Team IMPACT member Belle Swersey and helped raise money via Relay For Life.
Lisa Murphy, Carnegie Mellon University:
The 2017 Jostens Trophy winner and CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year graduated with a 3.84 grade point average in psychology. The two-time UAA Women’s Basketball Player of the Year volunteered with Pittsburgh children with internships in autism classrooms and therapy services, Special Olympics, and a local homeless ministry. She plans to help educate young children with disabilities in the same classrooms as more traditional students to set the foundation for a lifetime of inclusion. Murphy, who led NCAA Division III women’s basketball in field goal percentage each of her last three seasons, became only the eighth player in Division III history to record 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 200 blocks in her career. She earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors three times.
Brittany File, Emory University:
The 2016 UAA Softball Player of the Year graduated with a 3.71 grade point average while double majoring in neuroscience and behavioral biology, and philosophy. She volunteered with Snack in a Pack, helping pack food to feed more than 200 Atlanta school children, and helped feed residents at a local food pantry. She earned two CoSIDA Academic All-America honors and was named to the UAA All-Academic team each of the past three years. File finished her career as the program’s all-time leader in wins and helped the Eagles reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Softball Championship in 2016.