Women’s Swim Alumna Nordin Named One of 30 Candidates for NCAA Woman of the Year Award
TEMPE, Ariz. – The Woman of the Year Selection Committee has tabbed Sun Devil Women's Swimming's alumna Emma Nordin as one of the national Top 30 honorees for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, the organization announced Thursday.
Each honoree has demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. The honorees represent 14 sports and include nine multisport student-athletes. They have a variety of majors, including biological and biomedical engineering, psychology, business, digital communications, education, nursing, law and policy, and robotics.
The top 30 honorees, which were selected from 577 school nominees, include 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions.
"I am so honored to be selected as one of the top 30 NCAA woman of the year candidates," Nordin said. "My senior year was incredibly challenging while I struggled with my mental and physical health, so I'm incredibly grateful that I can be recognized for my effort and dedication in all aspects of my collegiate career. Of course, I would not have accomplished what I did without an inspiring group of women by my side; their big hearts and empowering words continually remind me that athletes are so much more than their performance.
"I am so proud to see my team climb through the ranks each and every year and to represent the extraordinary culture of ASU Women's Swimming and Diving."
Nordin ended her Sun Devil career as a 10-time College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America All-American, with six second-team recognitions in 2022 and 2019. She was the 2020 Pac-12 500-yard freestyle champion and runner-up in the 200 and 1,650 freestyle, and she holds six school records.
A nine-time Dean's List member, Nordin is an eight-time Scholar Baller and a two-time CSCAA Scholar All-American. After graduating Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Biological Sciences (Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior) in May 2021, she began studying for her graduate degree in Biology.
In April, the Carmel, Indiana, native was named the female recipient of the Kajikawa Award for the 2021-22 season, which recognizes a graduating senior student-athlete in recognition for her contributions at Arizona State University in honor of legendary Sun Devil Bill Kajikawa.
She followed it up in June by becoming Arizona State's Tom Hansen Conference Medal of Honor recipients, given annually by the Pac-12 to each member institution's outstanding senior male and female student-athlete.
She was the first Sun Devil Women's swimmer to earn the award since Beata Kaszuba in 1995.
Nordin is one of two student-athletes from the Pac-12 Conference to be selected as a Woman of the Year candidate, joining Stanford's Brooke Forde, and is one of six swimmers named to the list.
"As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX, we recognize the impact of women on college sports and are honored to select 30 incredible student-athletes who have played instrumental roles on their campus, in their community and on their teams," said Renie Shields, chair of the Woman of the Year Selection Committee and senior associate athletics director/senior woman administrator at Saint Joseph's. "This accomplished and diverse group of women represent the millions of student-athletes who have participated in the strong history of women's sports."
The selection committee will proceed with selecting three honorees from each NCAA division for a total of nine finalists. From those nine, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year.
For the first time in the award's history, the NCAA Woman of the Year will be named and the Top 30 will be celebrated at the NCAA Convention, which will be held in January in San Antonio.
Established in 1991, the award recognizes female student-athletes who have completed their undergraduate studies and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers.