NEWS

 

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Davidson swimmer and valedictorian Siena Senn is one of the Atlantic 10 Conference’s two nominees for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Award, the league office announced Monday.

Senn and UMass track and field standout Kira Kopec were chosen by the A-10’s Senior Woman Administrators to represent the league after member schools made a total of 14 nominations earlier this month. The SWAs selected Senn and Kopec “based on their academic prowess, athletic achievements, leadership abilities, skills and community involvement.”

“I am delighted to see Siena’s considerable successes and noteworthy contributions to our community appreciated by the A-10 as she moves forward in the NCAA Woman of the Year process,” said Davidson coach John Young. “Siena’s accomplishments epitomize the balance possible when our scholar-athletes bring intensity to the classroom and the pool. She is impressive in her ability to use time productively, and I’ve rarely seen someone enjoy pushing their limits so thoroughly.  I admire her disciplined approach to daily opportunities, her consistent application of her special talents and her deep connection to her family and close friends.”

From Park City, Utah, Senn is a two-time A-10 champion, three-time A-10 All-Academic Team member and recipient of Davidson’s 2022 Rebecca E. Stimson Award, given to the college’s top senior female scholar-athlete. A four-year member of the A-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, she graduated Summa Cum Laude and is an early inductee to Phi Beta Kappa and a member of Sigma Delta Pi (National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society).

A distance freestyler, Senn took A-10 gold in the 500 free in 2020 and 2021 and earned nine A-10 medals in her career. She swam on the 800 free relay team, which won the A-10 title in 2021 and set a school record in 2020. 

In the program records, Senn is second all-time in the 500 (4:49.00) as just the second Wildcat female to swim the event in less than 4:50. She also ranks second in the 1,000 (10:04.80) and the 1,650 (16:43.56) and fourth in the 200 (1:48.38).

Senn majored in public health, with a minor in Hispanic studies, and plans to pursue her Master’s in epidemiology. Outside the pool and Davidson classroom, Senn has worked as a third-grade Spanish teacher at Davidson K-8, served as a Research Fellow within the Davidson College Department of Public Health, served on the Health Justice Committee’s Nutritional Health Board and filled leadership roles within the Rusk Eating House and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Her research has been published, presented and awarded.

Now in its 32nd year, the NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

The NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee will review all conference-level nominees, choose the top 10 per division, name three finalists per division, recognize the top 30 honorees and ultimately announce the Woman of the Year in the fall.