Emory University cross country and track & field alum Annika Urban, and Case Western Reserve University women's soccer alum Anika Washburn were selected as the University Athletic Association's representatives for the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Rooted in Title IX, the NCAA Woman of the Year Award was established in 1991 to recognize graduating female student-athletes who have completed their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

Annika Urban

Urban capped off her incredible career with NCAA titles in the mile at the 2023 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships and the 1,500-meter run at the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She captured five track & field All-America honors and two cross country All-America accolades in her career. She swept the UAA running honors in 2022-23 by claiming medalist honors at the 2022 UAA Women's Cross Country Championship and being named UAA Women's Most Outstanding Performer in Running Events at the UAA indoor and outdoor track & field championship meets.

"It has been an absolute honor to be able to coach and be associated with Annika," said Emory cross country/track & field head coach Linh Nguyen. "She’s obviously an extremely high-level student and athlete but, more importantly, she’s a top-notch human being. I can’t think of anybody more deserving."

A double major in human health and political science, Urban finished with a 3.93 grade point average. She was a Peer Health Partner at Emory, where she created and taught an evidence-based health curriculum and engaged with first-year students. For three years, she taught this foundational health course with the goal of improving academic and personal success through health behaviors. In a separate course, she developed a group coaching curriculum for Emory faculty and staff enrolled in the National Diabetes Prevention Program. Urban spent one collegiate summer as a City of Pittsburgh Food Policy intern and later wrote health and wellness content both for Emory's Exploring Health Blog and as a health editorial intern for U.S. News & World Report.

Anika Washburn

Washburn became the first CWRU student-athlete to be named to the Academic All-America team four times in a single sport with two first team and two second team honors. A two-time All-America selection and two-time UAA Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year, she helped lead the Spartans to their first UAA women's soccer title and the school's first team other than men's tennis to reach the national championship match in its sport. She is the program's single-season and career record holder in goals, assists, points, and game-winning goals.

"Anika is very deserving of such an honor. She was a tremendous contributor to our program, being a great leader and competitor. Off the field, Anika was committed to her academics and being part of the  greater CWRU community," said CWRU head women's soccer coach Abby Richter. "This honor is a great way to end her amazing career at Case Western Reserve University."

In each of her five years at CWRU, including 2020 when fall sports were canceled due to COVID-19, Washburn was part of the Girls Who Code Club (GWC, an international non-profit), including three years as co-president of the group that hosted 10-week sessions each semester to support and increase the number of girls and women in computer sicence and STEM in the Cleveland area. "I never imagined that this club would change my entire college experience as well as give me a new perspective on the importance of shrinking the gender gap in technology," Washburn said. "GWC was a great opportunity to both teach computer science to girls who otherwise may not ever be introduced to it and show them that there are supportive groups of women in STEM who are intelligent, passionate, and successful."

"What a tremendous honor for Anika to be chosen as one of the UAA Woman of the Year winners. A model student-athlete, Anika represents a dedicated student in the classroom, high achieving athlete on the field, and a model citizen in the community," remarked CWRU James C. Wyant Director of Athletics and Chair of Physical Education T.J. Shelton. "Her leadership on the field and caring for her teammates was a driving force in the overall team's success during her time on the team. She reprepresents the very best of the NCAA student-athlete and is an ideal representative of the conference for this honor."

Conference offices selected up to two nominees each from their pool of member school nominees. All nominees who competed in a sport not sponsored by their school's primary conference, as well as associate conference nominees and independent nominees, were considered by a selection committee. Next, the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.

From the Top 30, the Woman of the Year selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division and announce nine finalists. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then will choose the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be named later this year.

Both women have also been nominated for the Division III Commissioners Association (DIIICA)'s annual Division III Student-Athlete of the Year Award for Women’s Sports, a program which began in 2021-22.

Other UAA Woman of the Year Nominations

Juliette Carreiro, Brandeis: Carreiro carries a 4.0 grade point average while double majoring in psychology and biology. She was named to the first team of the 2022 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Team after earning third team honors in 2021. A two-time first team United Soccer Coaches All-Region Team honoree, she was also named a third team All-America player this past fall.

Liz Barre, Carnegie Mellon: A three-time All-America honoree, Barre captured the pentathlon national title at the 2023 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships. She broke four of her own program indoor records and three of her outdoor records in 2023. She won five UAA titles in 2023 and was named Most Outstanding Field Performer in both the UAA indoor and outdoor championship meets. A mechanical engineering major, Barre earned USTFCCCA All-Academic accolades each of the past two years.

Jenny Walker, NYU: Walker maintained a 4.0 grade point average while majoring in media, culture, and communication and minoring in business of entertainment, media, and technology. The 2021-22 UAA Women's Basketball Player of the Year earned second team College Sports Communicators Academic All America recognition this past season. Walker, a student-athlete representative on the UAA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, founded the NYU LGBTQ+ Student Athlete Union in 2021.

Grace Hynes, UChicago: Haynes earned first team All-Association honors and Women's Basketball Coaches Association honorable mention All-America honors in 2022-23. She surpassed 1,000 career points despite playing only three seasons due to COVID-19. Majoring in biological sciences with a specialty in immunology, Hynes was an undergraduate researcher, working on two simultaneous research projects that investigate the tolerizing effects that pregnancy has on T cells.

Annie Mascot, WashU: A mechanical engineering major with a 3.84 grade point average, Mascot captured the individual title at the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Golf Championship, leading the Bears to a runner-up finish. She broke the Division III championship single-round record with a five-under par score. A 2023 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP) Recipient, Mascot founded the WashU FemTech Society for students interested in the intersection between women's health and technology.