ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia University's standout setter, Maggie McNamara, has been nominated for the second straight year as a candidate for the 2009-10 Division II Athlete of the Year representing volleyball. Formulated by the Board of The Collegiate Women Sports Awards and sponsored by Honda, Maggie's nomination nets a $1,000 donation to the women's athletic fund at Concordia University. The ballot, comprised of all 11 sport winners, will be announced in June 2010 with the DII Athlete of the Year announced at a press conference June 21, 2010 in Los Angeles.
Voted the AVCA Division II Player of the Year for her tremendous achievements on the volleyball court this season, Maggie represents the sport of volleyball for the 2009-10 Division II Athlete of the Year award. She will join 10 other student-athletes at the conclusion of the school term in vying for the title of the best female student-athlete in the Division II ranks. This is the 34th year that the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program has annually recognized the top woman collegiate in each of 11 sports in Divisions II and III as nominees for the final national award.
The 11 sports represented each year are basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field and volleyball. The athletes are placed on ballots emailed to all Division II and III Senior Women Administrators in June every year and the Athlete of the Year for each division is determined by the outcome of the voting. The Division II and III institutions recipients' schools receive $5,000 each.
McNamara (Zumbrota, Minn.) received her first bid for the award last year, when she was also named the AVCA Division II Player of the Year. She pulls in her second nomination for the Collegiate Women Sports Awards DII Player of the Year this season as she guided her team to a third consecutive national championship and just the second undefeated DII volleyball season in history. Only one NSIC-affiliated female student-athlete has won the Honda Sports Award, Vicky Braegelmann, a volleyball player from Minnesota Duluth, won the national award in 2007-08.
