Alabama Gymnast Mackenzie Brannan is UA’s NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee
7/16/2018 2:33:00 PM | Gymnastics
The Austin, Texas, native earned All-America and Academic All-America honors as well as SEC and NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships during her Crimson Tide career
INDIANAPOLIS – All-American and Academic All-American gymnast Mackenzie Brannan is The University of Alabama's nominee for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year, the NCAA has announced.
The Woman of the Year program celebrates the accomplishments of female college athletes across all three NCAA divisions. In 2018, more than 200,000 women are competing at the collegiate level, and the NCAA received a program-record 581 nominations for the honor.
"Mack continues to the reap the rewards of an extraordinary career," UA head coach Dana Duckworth said. "She strove for greatness in the classroom and the gym while working tirelessly to make a difference in the world around her – the very qualities that this latest accolade honors. She is a shining example of the fact that at The University of Alabama, you can truly have it all."
Brannan, one of 291 NCAA Division I nominees, is a four-time All-American and a three-year CoSIDA Academic All-American who graduated in May with a 4.0 grade point average in psychology. An SEC and NCAA regional champion, Brannan earned both a Southeastern Conference and NCAA postgraduate scholarship. During her career, the Austin, Texas, native helped lead Alabama to four NCAA championship appearances, three NCAA regional titles and the 2015 SEC crown.
The WOY program is in its 28th year and honors the academic achievements, athletic excellence, community service and leadership of female student-athletes. The individual school nominees move on to the conference ballot.
The conference selections are forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year Selection Committee, which identifies the top-10 honorees in each of the three NCAA divisions. From those 30 candidates, the selection committee then determines the three finalists in each division for a total of nine finalists. The 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced Sunday, Oct. 28, at an awards dinner in Indianapolis
Prior to 2005, the NCAA Woman of the Year were selected by state, which were then narrowed to top-10 finalists. During that period, five Alabama gymnasts earned state recognition, including Duckworth, and four advanced to the top-10. Since the process moved from the states to conferences, Alabama has had two top-30 finalists, Ashley Priess (2013) and Kim Jacob (2015).
For all the latest information on Alabama gymnastics, follow BamaGymnastics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and head coach Dana Duckworth on Twitter and Instagram at @UACoachDana.
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