HADLEY, Mass. - Eleven women have been nominated to represent the NESCAC as its NCAA Woman of the Year and Division III Commissioners Association Women's Sport Student-Athlete of the Year nominee. A committee of conference administrators will select the NESCAC's representative for the awards.
 
The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service, and leadership. More information on the award and a list of previous winners can be found here.

The Division III Commissioners Association Women's Sport Student-Athlete of the Year award, which will be awarded for the second time, honors the same areas as the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Jaidyn Appel, Tufts Track & Field
Appel graduated from Tufts with summa cum laude honors and a 3.90 GPA as she majored in political science and minored in sociology, child development, and German. An eight-time Dean’s List student, Appel earned six NESCAC All-Academic accolades and was inducted into the Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society. Appel was presented with Tufts’ Frederick Melvin Ellis Prize and her research has been published in the Dartmouth Journal for Politics, Economics, and World Affairs.

A captain of the Tufts indoor and outdoor track & field teams as a junior and senior, Appel was a SAAC representative, a tutor for the ENGin program and Tufts Tutoring, a peer teacher in Tufts’ Experimental College, a member of Advancing Civic Thought in our Nation (ACTION) Club, and a participant in the Junior Jumbos program.

Appel won two NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field titles in the high jump, earned six All-America laurels, and was a nine-time All-Region honoree. Appel helped Tufts finish as the NESCAC Runners-Up in 2022 and 2023 and won the NESCAC title in the high jump each year. The NESCAC meet record holder in the high jump, Appel was a four-time All-NESCAC performer, won the high jump at the NEICAAA Championship twice, and claimed the New England Division III title three times. Appel was the USTFCCCA East Region Outdoor Athlete of the Year in 2022.

Emily Batchelor, Williams Field Hockey/Ice Hockey
A two-sport athlete at Williams, Batchelor graduated with a 3.40 GPA while majoring in biology with a pre-med concentration. She was presented with the Williams College Purple Key Award and was a Dean’s List student. She also had her research published three times during her career at Williams.

A field hockey team captain, Batchelor was a Brayton Elementary School volunteer, 2-year Peer Health Club Associate Board Member, and 3-year SAAC representative.

Batchelor led Williams field hockey to the NCAA Final Four as a senior and garnered the NESCAC Player of the Year honor while also being named the NFHCA Region II Player of the Year. A two-time All-American, Batchelor was also a two-time all-region and All-NESCAC performer.

Grace Devanny, Wesleyan Soccer/Track & Field
A neuroscience and behavior and psychology double major at Wesleyan, Devanny graduated with a 3.99 GPA. She was named to the Dean’s List eight times and was a College Sports Communicators First Team Academic All-American and four-time All-District honoree. Devanny was inducted into Phi Betta Kappa in the spring of 2023 and was a nine-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree. She was presented with Wesleyan's Walkley Prize for excellence in psychology, the Maynard Award, and the Hoagland Award given to the most outstanding senior athlete at the university.

A three-year member of Wesleyan’s SAAC group, Devanny was a four-year participant in the WesBuds, and contributed to Wesleyan’s Girls & Women in Sports Day clinics. Devanny also collaborated with the Middletown Fire Department and Wesleyan Public Safety to organize Wesleyan’s annual holiday toy drive PSafe Stuff a Cruiser benefiting the Middletown community. She also participated in the Middletown Community Thanksgiving Project food drive.

Devanny won the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field title in the 400-meters in 2023 and played in the 2021 NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Semifinals. She was named an All-American seven times, earning six citations in track & field (200m, 400m) and one in women’s soccer becoming the first All-American in Wesleyan women’s soccer history and the second athlete at Wesleyan to earn All-American honors in two different sports.

Devanny closed her career ranked second among Wesleyan’s women’s soccer all-time leaders in career points (75), goals (29), and assists (15). On the track, Devanny is the NCAA Division III indoor record holder in the 500-meters and owns the NESCAC Championship meet record in the 400-meters. In two career NESCAC Championship appearances, she won six events and claimed eight New England Division III Indoor titles in three different events (200m, 400m, 4x200 relay). Devanny was the NESCAC Women's Soccer Rookie of the Year in 2019, Women's Soccer Player of the Year in 2021, and the NESCAC Most Outstanding Performer following the NESCAC Track & Field Championships in 2023.

Jaida Hodge-Adams, Bowdoin Volleyball
Hodge-Adams graduated from Bowdoin as a government and legal studies major and computer science minor with a 3.94 GPA. A four-time member of the NESCAC All-Academic Team, Hodge-Adams was honored with the Sarah and James Bowdoin Award three times, the James Bowdoin Cup, and earned prizes for excellence from the Government and Legal Studies Department and International Relations.

Hodge-Adams was one of three leaders of the fEMPOWER women’s empowerment club at Bowdoin and directed RISE: The Untold Story of Bowdoin Women. She also worked as a communications and research intern at Justice4Housing and collaborated with Suffolk County Department of Corrections and Harvard University while also managing over 100 student volunteers in the Bowdoin Votes initiative. Hodge-Adams was also a member of Bowdoin’s Athletes of Color Coalition and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee

Hodge-Adams contributed to the Polar Bears’ 2021 Volleyball NESCAC Championship squad and garnered a spot on the NEWVA All-Rookie team in 2019.

Mary Kate McGranahan, Amherst Cross Country/Track & Field
McGranahan graduated from Amherst with degrees in computer science and economics and a 3.63 GPA as a member of the women’s cross country and track & field teams.

McGranahan served as a group leader of a RADical Hope Project at Amherst, was a McGeach Fellow in the Amherst Computer Science Department, and a captain of both the cross country and track & field squads.

A nine-time NESCAC All-Academic selection, McGranahan earned a spot on the 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team and was a USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree twice. McGranahan was awarded the Howard Hill Mossman Trophy by Amherst.

An All-American in cross country, McGranahan claimed five USTFCCCA All-Region citations in track & field and two in cross country. She was a two-time All-New England performer in track & field and garnered All-NESCAC honors twice in both track & field and cross country. The NESCAC Cross Country Most Outstanding Performer and NESCAC Champion in 2022, she led Mammoths to a NESCAC runner-up finish, marking the team’s highest finish since 2002. McGranahan was also named to the 2023 NESCAC Track & Field All-Sportsmanship Team.

Elise Morris, Middlebury Women’s Soccer
Morris, a captain of the Middlebury women’s soccer team, earned a degree in neuroscience with a minor in Spanish and posted a 3.92 GPA. Morris was a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District selection, a four-time NESCAC All-Academic Team honoree, and five-time College Scholar.

Morris interned in the Middlebury Civil Rights & Title IX Office and the Prevention and Education Department of Harborview Abuse and Trauma Center. She was a camp counselor at Seattle Children's Hospital’s Stanley Stamm Camp, a mentor to elementary-aged youths at Community Friends in Middlebury, a King County Sexual Assault Resource Center Advocate, founder and manager of the Reach Out and Read program, organizer and host of It Happens Here storytelling event, and a Medical Scribe, Translator, and Pediatric Nutritional Educator at Guatemala Village Health.

A United Soccer Coaches All-American in 2022, Morris helped the Panthers reach the NCAA Women’s Soccer Division III Championship game in 2018. Morris was a two-time United Soccer Coaches All-Region and All-NESCAC First Team selection. Morris was also honored as the 2023 NCAA LGBTQ+ Student-Athlete of the Year and presented with Middlebury’s Deborah Parton ’76 Memorial Award.

Toriana (Tori) Richards, Colby Rowing
Richards earned a degree in environmental policy and carried a 3.77 GPA. She was a three-time NESCAC All-Academic selection and earned a spot on the Dean’s List twice at Colby. Richards is set to begin her professional career as a Stakeholder Government Affairs Intern at Equinor, a company leading the green energy transition.

While at Colby, Richards volunteered at the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter, was a two-time participant in Colby’s National Girls & Women in Sports Day. She also worked as a community advisor and Colby College hall staff member fostering unity, inclusion, and safety in the dorms and creating community events for students.

A co-captain of the Colby women’s rowing team as a senior, she ranks among Colby’s all-time fastest rowers in the 2K and 6K-meter distances. Richards garnered Pocock All-America Second Team honors in 2021 and was a three-time All-NESCAC Second Team performer for the Mules.

Jillian Richardson, Bates Cross Country/Track & Field
Richardson, a member of the Bates women’s cross country and track & field teams, graduated from Bates with a 3.90 GPA as a Biology major and an Asian Studies minor.

A nine-time NESCAC All-Academic award recipient, she was named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic squad twice and was a member of STEM Scholars at Bates.

Richardson participated in community service events throughout the City of Lewiston and worked as a facility manager in the Bates Athletic Department.

Richardson was the 2022 USTFCCCA East Region Cross Country Runner of the Year and named the New England Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2023. A four-time All-NESCAC honoree, she owns the Bates school record in the 3,000-meters.

Lia Rotti, Tufts Track & Field
Rotti graduated from Tufts with summa cum laude honors and a 3.98 GPA as an applied mathematics major. A Phi Beta Kappa inductee, Rotti was presented with Tufts’ Lewis F. Manly Memorial Prize and the Fredrick Melvin Ellis Prize. She garnered Academic All-America honors in 2022 from the College Sports Communicators (CSC) organization and was a two-time CSC Academic All-District honoree. Rotti was also named the USTFCCCA Division III Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Scholar Field Athlete of the Year in 2022 and a USTFCCCA three-time all-academic honoree.

Rotti contributed to the Tufts community as a course grader for Mathematical Modeling and Computation Class and served as a volunteer research assistant at Tufts with Professor Arkadz Kirstein and IUPUI with Dr. Julia Arciero.

The 2022 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Champion in triple jump, Rotti concluded her career with nine NCAA All-American citations and garnered all-region honors 17 times. A two-time NESCAC Champion in the triple jump, Rotti was a six-time All-NESCAC performer and the 2021 NESCAC Rookie of the Year. Rotti won the New England Outdoor Track & Field title in the long jump and triple jump twice and owns the outdoor triple jump record. She also captured the New England Indoor Track & Field titles in the long jump and triple jump four times and owns the record in the indoor long jump. Rotti was named the 2023 USTFCCCA Division III Indoor & Outdoor Track & Field East Region Field Athlete of the Year and the Carla Coffey Division III New England Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Meet twice as well as the USTFCCCA Division III Outdoor Track & Field New England Region Field Athlete of the Year in 2021.

Ann Tolan, Colby Swimming & Diving
Tolan graduated from Colby College with a 3.72 GPA and a degree in sociology and a minor in economics. She was a two-time CSCAA Scholar All-American and earned NESCAC All-Academic Team honors three times during her career as a member of the Colby women’s swimming & diving team.

Tolan served as a mentor in the Paving the Road to a Path in Finance helping students in their internship/post-graduate job search, was a Student Outreach Coordinator, and a member of the Colby College Women in Finance and Colby Dancers group. Tolan spearheaded the First-Year Student-Athlete Orientation program and was a speaker for the program. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tolan was a Remote Learning Coach in the Colby College Center for Teaching and Learning where she mentored elementary and middle school students.

A two-year captain and three-time team MVP of the Colby women’s swimming & diving team, she was honored with the Scholz Award, given to the team member who has impacted and embodied the program the most during their tenure. Tolan was presented with Colby’s Marjorie D. Bither Award for academic and athletic ability and leadership in athletics on campus. Tolan was an All-American in the 50 freestyle in 2022 and collected All-NESCAC honors in the event that same year. Tolan claimed Colby’s career high-point award in 2023.

Kamila Zygadlo, Trinity Track & Field
A member of the Trinity women’s indoor and outdoor track & field teams, Zygadlo graduated from Trinity College with a biochemistry degree while maintaining a 3.96 GPA. She finished her career as a seven-time NESCAC All-Academic and a USTFCCCA National All-Academic honoree while also being named to the 2023 College Sports Communicators Division III Academic All-District Team.

Zygadlo worked as an undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Lindsay A. Hanson’s laboratory designing and leading research projects, and presented at the Trinity College Chemistry Department Seminar Series twice. She was a First-Year Seminar Mentor, collaborating with Professor Rosario Hubert in the Hispanic Studies Department. Zygadlo worked in the Campus Safety office and the Student Accessibility Resource Center while also a member of the Fred Pfeil Community Project. She also volunteered with the Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement at Trinity.

Zygadlo participated in the Interdisciplinary Science Program and won numerous Trinity College awards in mathematics, biochemistry, and garnered Trinity Faculty Honors six semesters. She was presented with the Thomas Holland Scholar honor in 2020, the Lisa P. Nestor Chemical Rubber Company Award in 2021, and the James N. Frank Research Fellowship in 2022.

Zygadlo was a two-time NESCAC Champion in the hammer throw and garnered multiple All-NESCAC honors, USTFCCCA All-Mideast Region accolades, and Division III All-New England laurels in the event. Zygadlo closed out her career as Trinity’s record holder in the weight throw and hammer throw.