Aurora University Athletics

Aurora University and the athletic department announced the 2018-2019 recipient of the Spartan Woman of the Year Award. The honor has been bestowed upon recent AU graduate Lauren Anderson. The Spartan Woman of the Year award honors a graduating female student-athlete athletes who has exhausted her eligibility and distinguished herself throughout her collegiate careers in academics, athletics, service and leadership.

With being the AU Woman of the Year, Lauren Anderson joins a distinguished list of female student-athletes from NCAA conferences and independent schools who have nominated female student-athletes for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. These women represent college athletes spanning all three NCAA divisions.

"Lauren distinguished herself throughout her collegiate career with high academic achievement, athletic success and leadership on campus with AMA," said AU Associate Director of Athletics for Compliance and Student Development Heather Reinke. "She truly embodies the definition of what a Division III student-athlete is. We are proud of her winning this award and look forward to seeing her grow professionally."

In her four years as a Spartan in the women's golf program, Anderson, a graduating senior marketing major, had a successful career honors list. She was named a 2019 First-Team Academic All-America honor from Google Cloud / CoSIDA, and in being selected became a two-time Academic All-America selection while also having been named to the CoSIDA All-District team in back to back years. Additionally, she received her second NCAA Division III Women's Golf Elite 90 recognition at the 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Golf Championship. She was also the 2017 NCAA Division III Women's Golf Elite 90 winner and has been a NACC and AU Scholar-Athlete three-times in 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2017-2018 and 2018-2019.

During her senior campaign on the links, Anderson led AU to a return trip to the NCAA Division III Women's Golf Championship, the third appearance for Anderson and the Spartans in her four years on the AU campus. A three-time All-Conference performer in the NACC, Anderson wrapped up her collegiate career today in the third round of the NCAA Championship with an 81. Her final collegiate hole, the par four, ninth, she birdied.

In the community, Anderson excelled as a marketing major, serving as the Vice-President of charter development for the nationally acclaimed AU American Marketing Association and was Vice-President of Sports Marketing which involved teaching students about marketing in the sports industry and providing networking opportunities with industry professionals. Anderson has also been instrumental in local Woman's Golf Day events.

The Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will then choose the top 30 honorees – 10 from each division. From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three honorees from each division and announces the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses from among those nine to determine the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year.

A record 585 female college athletes have been nominated by NCAA member schools for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year award.

Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

"This year was a highly competitive field of female candidates for the AU Woman of the Year," added Reinke. "Lauren stood above the strong pool though with her strengths in the three areas throughout her four years as a Spartan."

The NCAA encourages member schools to honor their top graduating female student-athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award. The nominees competed in 23 different sports across all three NCAA divisions, including 262 from Division I, 131 from Division II and 192 from Division III. Multisport student-athletes account for 144 of the nominees.