Former Emory University softball All-American Megan Light
is one of nine finalists for the 2014 NCAA Woman of the Year
Award.
The Woman of the Year award honors female student-athletes who
have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate career in
the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, community
service and leadership.
A committee of representatives from NCAA schools and
conferences selected the top nine finalists from a pool of 30
semifinalists. Those individuals were identified from an initial
pool of 446 conference and independent honorees representing all
three NCAA divisions and multiple sports.
A three-time All-American and the first player in program history
to earn two first-team berths, Light established school season
records with 19 home runs and 65 RBIs during the 2014 campaign.
A four-time selection to the All-University Athletic
Association First Team, she was tabbed as the conference’s
Player of the Year three times. Career-wise, she hung up her
Emory uniform ranked among the program’s all-time top 10 in
12 offensive categories including first in home runs (47), hits
(230), doubles (60), RBIs (224), total bases (435) and slugging
percentage (.812). Light also shined in the academic realm as
she was chosen as the Capital One Division III Academic
All-American of the Year in softball, while also receiving the NCAA
Postgraduate Scholarship Award. She graduated with an overall
grade-point average of 3.96, majoring in Anthropology and Human
Biology. She was also a 100 Senior Honorary, awarded
by the Emory Alumni Association for up to 100 students in the
senior class for being excellent models of citizenship and
leadership.
The other Division III finalists are Alexa Baltes of Illinois Wesleyan University and Krista (Stoltz) Bellefeuille of University of Northwestern-St. Paul.
The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the
national winner. The recipient of the 24th annual award will be
announced during the 2014 NCAA Woman of the Year awards event, to
be held Oct. 19 in Indianapolis.
It marks the third time since 2009 that Emory has had a finalist
for the award with former volleyball All-American Dani Huffman
(2009) and former swimming All-American Ruth Westby (2010), the
previous honorees.
The nine finalists for the 2014 NCAA Woman of the Year are as
follows:
Division I
Marisa Bast, Northwestern University (Softball)
Alyssa Hasslen, University of Arizona (Track & Field)
Elizabeth Tucker, University of Notre Dame (Soccer)
Division II
Ellen Chambers, Lynn University (Golf)
Jackie Sileo, Long Island University/LIU Post (Lacrosse)
Bailey Vrazel, Texas Woman’s University (Softball)
Division III
Megan Light, Emory University (Softball)
Alexa Baltes, Illinois Wesleyan (Basketball)
Krista (Stoltz) Bellefeuille, University
of Northwestern-St. Paul (Volleyball)
To learn more about the nine finalists for the 2014 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, please click here.