Nebraska Diver Abigail Knapton Leads Aquatic Nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year
Nebraska Diver Abigail Knapton is one of two nominees from the Big Ten for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award, announced on Monday.
Knapton is one of nine swimming and diving athletes among the conference-level nominees. There is also one water polo player, California Lutheran’s Jessica Diaz, up for the award. The full list of 153 nominees across all three divisions is here.
Aquatic Nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year
- Abigail Knapton, Nebraska (Division I)
- Brittney Beetcher, Buffalo (Division I)
- Sara Aringsmann, Wingate University (Division II)
- Mikayla Bisignani, Johns Hopkins (Division III)
- Hannah Chao, Calvin University (Division III)
- Anna Curran, Brooklyn College (Division III)
- Alexandra Fontes, Juniata College (Division III)
- Eva Pet, Wheaton College (Mass.) (Division III)
- Lindsay Ruderman, Amherst (Division III)
- Jessica Diaz, California Lutheran (Division III) – water polo
The award has been presented to an outstanding, graduating female student-athlete annually since 1991, recognizing achievement in academics, athletics, service and leadership. The selection committee will cull a list of 30 honorees (10 from each division) in September. The award will be given at a ceremony on Oct. 17 in Indianapolis. The 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year was University of Kentucky swimmer Asia Seidt.
Knapton was a six-time All-American diver for the Cornhuskers. She was the first Nebraska diver to win a Big Ten championship by winning the platform and 1-meter springboard in 2021. As the 3-meter runner-up, she earned Big Ten Diver of the Meet award. A four-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and four-time Academic All-Big Ten pick, the Omaha native graduated in May with a degree in psychology. She earned the 2021 Big Ten Medal of Honor, was a first-team Academic All-American and received an NCAA postgraduate scholarship.
Beetcher was nominated by the Mid-American Conference, having led the Bulls to the first MAC conference in school history. She was the MAC’s Outstanding Senior in 2021, earned Buffalo’s Clifford C. Furnas Award and earned a post-graduate scholarship from the NCAA.
Aringsmann was nominated by the Bluegrass Mountain Conference. The native of Munich, Germany, is currently an intern for BMW and plans to pursue a master’s degree in mathematics in science and engineering at the Technical University in Munich. The mathematics major/physics minor was a five-time All-American as a senior, leading Wingate to sixth at the NCAA Division II meet. She’s an 11-time All-America in her career and the 2021 Wingate Female Athlete of the Year.
NCAA Woman of the Year nominee Mikayla Bisignani of Johns Hopkins; Photo Courtesy: James T VanRensselaer
Bisignani was a three-time Academic All-American. She graduated in May with degrees in psychology and molecular and cellular biology, with a GPA of 3.99. She will begin medical school at the University of Pittsburgh in the fall after spending the summer conducting at independent research project at Pitt Medical’s Center Duvvuri Lab. The Centennial Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year also was a member of the outdoor track and field team. She qualified for the NCAA swimming championships in 2019 (finishing fourth in the 200 free relay) and in 2020 and 2021 (both cancelled due to COVID-19).
Chao was a four-time all-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) selection in the pool, helping the Knights win a pair of league titles and qualifying for the NCAA Division III championships twice. She had the third-fastest time in Division III in the 200 back and fourth-fastest in the 100 back as a senior. The biology graduate was a two-time CSCAA Scholar All-America and two-time Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar honoree.
Curran is a member of the Brooklyn College softball, soccer and swim programs. Nominated by the City University of New York Athletic Conference in Division III, she graduated with an exercise science degree and is an aspiring physical therapist or athletic trainer.
Fontes capped her Juniata career with a Landmark Conference Virtual Championship in the women’s 200 fly. She holds the school record in that event. She was a four-time Landmark Academic Honor Roll honoree and worked as a volunteer lifeguard, Special Olympics volunteer and worked with the Universidad de Las Americas and Institute for Cerebral Palsy in Quito, Ecuador. She graduated with a degree in biology.
Pet, a native of Bali, was nominated by the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference. The double-major in biochemistry and economics maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA. She was a leader of the school’s international student orientation. She won university prizes in both of her academic concentrations and was the school’s Senior Scholar-Athlete Award recipient. Pet qualified for the NCAA Division II championships in 2018 as part of three relays and helped the team finish third in the NEWMAC on three occasions.
Ruderman won a pair of NCAA championships in the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard at the 2019 Division III championships, the last time she would have an NCAAs to compete at due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ruderman was a three-time NESCAC diver of the year and was the school’s Howard Hill Mossman Trophy recipient. A three-time NESCAC All-Academic and two-time CSCAA Scholar All-American, the mathematics graduate is working as a research assistant in sports medicine at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
Jessica Diaz was nominated by the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after helping the Regals to a pair of SCIAC tournament wins. She was a two-time ACWPC Honorable mention All-American. A criminology and criminal justice major, Diaz was active in the community and earned the school’s Presidents Award all four years.
More information about the NCAA Woman of the Year program is available here.