Battista Named DII Woman of the Year Nominee for Basketball
WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley University senior forward Lauren Battista (North Easton/Oliver Ames HS) has been named the 2014 DII Woman of the Year nominee for basketball. The announcement was made today by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda.
Battista is now designated one of 11 finalists for the prestigious DII Woman Athlete of the Year honor. This will be voted on at the end of the academic year by national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of THE CWSA program, now in its 38th year, and will be presented in Los Angeles at the end June.
Battista led Bentley to a perfect 35-0 season and the 2014 NCAA Division II national championship. She is a finalist for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Player of the Year award, was chosen for Player of the Year honors by Women's Division II Bulletin and was selected as the Capital One Academic All-America of the Year for Division II.
Bentley's all-time leading scorer with 2,112 career points, Battista averaged 17.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game this season. She is a three-time WBCA All-America and was the Northeast-10 Player of the Year for the second time in three years. Off the court, she is a three-time Capital One NCAA Division II Academic All-America and a two-time recipient of the NE-10 Sport Excellence Scholar-Athlete Award for women's basketball (with this year's award winner still to be announced). The dual major (marketing, liberal studies) has a sparkling 3.95 grade point average.
"It's a tremendous honor to be considered among the best female athletes in Division II and I'm honored to represent women's basketball for this very prestigious award, " stated Battista. "I'm just so grateful for all the opportunities that basketball has provided me as a college student-athlete. This entire year has been like a dream come true and I couldn't picture a better ending for my team and myself. I'm very honored and humbled by the award. "
"What a tremendous honor for Lauren to be named basketball's DII Woman of the Year nominee," said head coach Barbara Stevens. "To be named as the best in her sport at the DII level is a crowning achievement for Lauren in a season full of accomplishments."
All sports nominees from DII and DIII become a finalist for the prestigious 2014 CWSA Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year in their respective divisions. The sports nominees are recognized in 11 DIII and DII NCAA-sanctioned sports; cross country, basketball, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, volleyball, and track & field.
THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards has honored the nation's top NCAA women athletes for 37 years, recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its sponsorship in 1986, Honda has provided more than $2.7 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women's athletics programs at the institutions.