MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Elizabeth Kooistra and UW-Platteville’s Jessica Scott have been named the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) nominees for the 2009 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors senior student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.
All conference nominees will be forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee that will select the top 10 winners in each division. From among those 30 honorees, the selection committee will determine the top three in each division. Finally, the members of the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will vote from among the top nine finalists to determine the 2009 NCAA Woman of the Year.
In order to be eligible for the award, female student-athletes must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2009 spring season, graduated no later than the end of the summer 2009 term, and achieved a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5.
A senior from Kiel, Wis., Scott was a four-year letterwinner for both the cross country and track and field squads at UW-Platteville. She majored in biology with a minor in chemistry and carried a 3.75 grade point average.
A two-time winner of the WIAC Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete Award (cross country/indoor track and field), Scott was named to both the 2008 and 2009 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Five College Division Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country Second Team.
At the 2007 NCAA indoor championship, she was a member of the record-setting national champion distance medley relay squad and a year later won the national crown in the 800-meter run. Scott has added an additional seven All-America medals in her career.
During her career, she claimed five WIAC titles, including the outdoor 4x800-meter relay in 2007 and 2008, while earning the indoor distance medley relay and both 800-meter run crowns in 2009. Scott twice secured UW-Platteville’s Female Athlete of the Year honor.
In cross country, she claimed All-America recognition in 2008 with a 12th-place finish at the national meet.
Scott volunteered with Kids Night Out, blood drives, leaf raking and roadside litter control.
Kooistra, a senior from Lakeville, Minn., maintained a 3.49 grade point average and earned a psychology degree with an emphasis in behavior analysis. She was named to the 2009 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America College Division Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country First Team and 2007 and 2008 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Five College Division Women’s Soccer Teams. A McNair Scholar, Kooistra claimed the 2009 WIAC Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete Award in outdoor track and field.
A four-year letterwinner for the Blugold soccer team, Kooistra earned the 2008 WIAC Player of the Year honor and is a four-time All-WIAC first team selection. She is a three-time National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-Central Region choice that helped UW-Eau Claire secure WIAC titles in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Kooistra matched the Blugold career record with 29 assists and led the squad to a spot in the NCAA Division III Championship all four seasons.
As a four-year letterwinner for the track and field squad, she is an 11-time All-American and claimed the 400-meter dash national title at this year’s NCAA outdoor championship. Kooistra earned the WIAC Track Performer of the Meet at the indoor championship this season after securing league titles in 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash and 4x200-meter relay. She claimed nine individual and relay first-place medals at WIAC championships in her career.
Kooistra has been involved with Reading Partners, Best Buddies, Literacy Leaders, Student Support Services, Applied Campus Autism and Applied Behavioral Intervention Services.
Additional individuals from the WIAC nominated for this year’s NCAA Woman of the Year Award included: UW-La Crosse’s Caitlin Schetter (Sr., Kiel, Wis.) and UW-Oshkosh’s Jessie Scheer (Sr, De Pere, Wis.).