Monday, July 18, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – Four standout GNAC student-athletes are among the 577 nominees for the NCAA 2022 Woman of the Year Award.

Seattle Pacific senior soccer player Sophia Chilczuk, Central Washington senior basketball player Kassidy Malcolm, Alaska Anchorage senior basketball player Tennae Voliva and Alaska senior volleyball player Cate Whiting are among 127 nominees for the award at the Division II level.

Now in its 32nd year, the NCAA Woman of the Year program recognizes female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and have distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers. The list of 577 honorees will be cut down to one nominee per conference in mid-August.

Chilczuk was recognized as the GNAC’s Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in June. A 2021 United Soccer Coaches First Team All-American, Chilzcuk was also named a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American. She is the first three-time Academic All-American in program history, earning a 3.92 GPA as a physiology major. Chilzcuk led Division II with a GNAC single-season record 17 assists and scored a team-leading 30 points (six goals, 17 assists) to help lead SPU to the West Region title.

A First Team All-GNAC selection, Chilczuk was named MVP of the GNAC Women’s Soccer Championships after dishing out four assists in the Falcons’ two victories. She was also among the 2022 honorees for the Seattle Female Sports Star of the Year.

Malcolm was named the GNAC 2021-22 Women’s Basketball Player of the Year and finished the season averaging 17.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in 32 games. The First Team All-GNAC and D2CCA First Team All-West Region selection helped lead Central Washington to the GNAC championship and a run to the semifinals of the NCAA Division II West Regional. A graduate student on art studies and public relations with a 4.00 GPA (3.83 undergraduate GPA), Malcolm was also named a Third Team CoSIDA Academic All-American.

Voliva helped lead Alaska Anchorage to second place in the GNAC women’s basketball regular-season standings and another run to the NCAA West Regional Tournament. Voliva led the Seawolves with averages of 12.9 points and seven rebounds per game, ranking in the conference’s top 10 in both categories, and was ninth in the GNAC with a .479 field goal percentage. A First Team All-GNAC and WBCA Honorable Mention All-American selection, Voliva became the fourth player in UAA women’s basketball history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-American honors with a 4.00 GPA as a graduate student in clinical psychology.

Whiting was a First Team All-GNAC selection and was named Alaska’s Female Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive time. The setter finished second in the GNAC with 1,084 total assists and was fourth with 9.59 assists per set. She also ranked in the top 15 in the conference with 3.42 digs per set. Whiting helped lead the Nanooks to 18 wins, the most for the program since 1996. Academically, Whiting was named the UAF Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was the school’s Engineering Student of the Year with a 4.00 graduate GPA in civil engineering.