LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference today announced the five finalists for the 2021 SCAC Woman of the Year award. The award recognizes the conference’s senior female student-athlete who has best distinguished herself throughout her collegiate career in the areas of academic achievement, athletic excellence and service and leadership. Past Winners
Member schools were permitted to submit two nominations if at least one of the nominees was a woman of color or international student-athlete.
This year’s finalists include: Ally Longaker of Austin College, Tacoya Allen of Centenary College, Isabelle Aragon-Menzel of Colorado College, Skylar Ouellette of Texas Lutheran University and Zoe Kaffen of Trinity University.
To be nominated, student-athletes must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2021 spring season, received her undergraduate degree prior to the conclusion of the summer 2021 term and had a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.500 (4.000 scale) with the noted exception due to COVID-19 pandemic. A student-athlete who received an extension waiver or a season of competition/participation waiver in her primary sport due to cancellation of a 2020 and/or 2021 athletics season or championship may be nominated for the 2021 Woman of the Year, provided she otherwise satisfies nomination criteria.
Scroll below to read a quick bio on each of the five finalists:
Ally Longaker, Austin College
Women's Basketball
- Psychology and Public Health major with a 3.93 GPA
- Four-Time SCAC Academic Honor Roll Honoree (2018-21)
- Austin College Dean's List (2017-21)
- SCAC Women's Basketball Elite 19 Award Winner (2021)
- Bo Miller Outstanding Scholar Athlete (2021)
- Two-Time Second Team All-SCAC (2020, 2021); Honorable Mention All-SCAC (2018, 2019)
- SCAC Regular Season Co-Champion (2018)
- SCAC Tournament Champion (2020)
- Team Captain (2020-21)
- One-Time SCAC Player-of-the-Week
- Outreach Paraguay/United Way Intern (2020)
- Influenza Research and Health Campaign (2020)
- Austin College Great Day of Service (2020)
- Austin College Global Outreach Fellowship - Columbia (2019)
- Austin College Women's Health Forum - Presenter (2019)
- Grayson County Children's Advocacy Center Internship (2019)
- Toys for Tots Basketball Clinic Volunteer (2017-18)
Tacoya Allen, Centenary College
Women's Basketball & Women's Track & Field
- Biology major with a 2.87 GPA
- Two-sport varsity participant (2019-20 and 2020-21)
- Plant-a-Seed In Our Youth Foundation Volunteer (2021)
Isabelle Aragon-Menzel, Colorado College
Volleyball
- Sociology major with a 3.95 GPA
- Four-Time SCAC Academic Honor Roll Honoree (2017-2021)
- SCAC Volleyball Elite 19 Award Winner (2021)
- CoSIDA Academic All-District Volleyball Team (2021)
- Colorado College Crown-Goodman Presidential Scholarship (2019-20)
- Alpha Kappa Delta - International Sociology Honor Society (Inducted 2019-20; Member 2020-21)
- SCAC Setter of the Year (2020-21)
- First Team All-SCAC (2020-21)
- SCAC Tournament Champions (2020-21)
- SCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player (2020-21)
- SCAC All-Tournament Team (2020-21)
- SCAC Regular Season Champions (2020-21)
- Colorado College Lauren Golden Award recipient; top senior female student-athlete (2020-21)
- Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) - Team Representative (2019-20); Officer (2020-21)
- SCAC SAAC Institutional Representative (2019-21)
- Campus Writing Center Peer Tutor (2017-21)
- TESSA Volunteer (2019-20)
- Gifted and Talented Tutor at North Middle School (2017-18)
- English as Second Language Tutor at Palmer High School (2017-18)
Skylar Ouellette, Texas Lutheran University
Softball
- Kinesiology (Rehabilitation Science) major with a 3.77 GPA
- Four-Time SCAC Academic Honor Roll Honoree (2018-21)
- CoSIDA Academic All-District (2021); All-America nominee (2021)
- First-Team All-SCAC Softball (2018); Second Team All-SCAC Softball (2021); Honorable Mention All-SCAC Softball (2019)
- Second Team NFCA All-Region (2021)
- SCAC Team Regular Season and Tournament Softball Champions (2018-2019; 2021)
- NCAA Division III Softball Team National Champion (2019)
- Most Outstanding Player of NCAA DIII Super Regional (2019)
- Most Outstanding Player of NCAA DIII Regional (2019)
- All-Tournament Team - NCAA Championship Finals (2019 and 2021)
- All-Tournament Team - NCAA Regional (2018 and 2021)
- TLU Female Sportsmanship Award Winner (2020-21)
- YMCA Camp Coach/Site Supervisor (2018-21)
- Athletics Facilities Gameday Staff (2018-21)
Zoe Kaffen, Trinity University
Women’s Tennis
- Business Analytics and Technology major with a 3.80 GPA
- Four-Time SCAC Academic Honor Roll Honoree (2017-19; 2021)
- Trinity University Dean’s List (Six Semesters)
- Three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete (2018-20)
- Five-time All-SCAC selection (2017-2021)
- SCAC Player-of-the-Year (2021)
- Three-time SCAC All-Tournament Team - Singles & Doubles (2017, 2018, 2019)
- Three-time SCAC Doubles Team-of-the-Week
- Two-time ITA All-American - Doubles (2019 and 2020)
- ITA All-American - Singles (2021)
- Two-time ITA Regional Doubles Champion (Fall 2019 and Fall 2020)
- Two-time SCAC All-Sportsmanship Team (2017 and 2020)
- St. Jude Volunteer (2021)
- Salvation Army Volunteer (2020)
- New Braunfels Food Bank (2019)
- TU Rebounce Recycle (2019)
- Kinetic Kids & TU Smashers - Volunteer coach (2016-2019)
