INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Two from the University of Florida – gymnast
Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto and tennis'
Brianna Morgan – are among a distinguished group of female athletes up for the 2016
NCAA Woman of the Year Award, announced by the NCAA today.
The Woman of the Year award, which is in its 26th year, honors graduating female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academics, athletics, service and leadership.
About Dancose-Giambattisto:
- Four-year member of the Gator gymnastics team, which won 2013, 2014 and 2015 NCAA Championships. Also claimed 2013 and 2016 Southeastern Conference team titles.
- 2016 All-SEC team member after posting season-best 9.925 in league championships uneven bars competition
- In every Gator uneven bars but the first three meets of career. Twice turned in a collegiate-best 9.95 on event
- Third Gator student-athlete to receive UF Presidential Service Award. Contributed more than 230 hours of community service during Gator career.
- Three-time member of SEC Academic Honor Roll and National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches Scholastic All-America team.
- Will graduate in summer of 2016 with degree in applied physiology and kinesiology with an exercise physiology concentration and a minor in chemistry. Plans to attend medical school.
About Morgan:
- Four-year member of the Gator women's tennis team, which won the Southeastern Conference regular season championship in 2013, 2015 and 2016 and advanced to the NCAA semifinals twice with an additional run to the quarterfinal round
- 2016 SEC Tournament MVP, who was part of the league's 2013 and 2016 postseason league titles, and earned All-America honors on the singles court
- Singles All-American, 2016 Intercollegiate Tennis Association South Region Most Improved Senior Award Winner, 2014 and 2015 First Team All-SEC and 2013 and 2016 Second Team All-SEC
- 2016 Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar Award for Women's Tennis, three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete (minimum of 3.5 GPA) and a three-year member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll
- Recipient of the 2016 Tracy Caulkins Award that recognizes the outstanding graduating female student-athlete at the University of Florida
- Graduated in April of 2016 with a bachelor's degree in psychology
Award Facts & Figures:
- The NCAA Woman of the Year is its 26th year in 2016.
- 517 honorees (the most ever in the history of the Woman of the Year program)
- Dancose-Giambattisto is one of 11 gymnasts among the 229 Division I nominees and Morgan is among the 21 tennis players put forward for the award.
- Four pillars of the Woman of the Year award: academics, athletics, service and leadership
Each conference selects up to two women from the nominees to represent the conference. The Woman of the Year selection committee selects the top 30 honorees -- 10 from each division -- from the conference nominees in September 2016. From those 30 candidates, the selection committee determines the top three in each division and announces the top nine finalists in late September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will then vote from among the finalists to determine the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year.
The top 10 honorees from Divisions I, II and III, including the nine overall finalists, will be honored, and the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced, at the annual ceremony in Indianapolis on Sunday, October 16.
