University of Massachusets Athletics
McGowan Nominated For NCAA Woman Of The Year Award
July 10, 2024 | Women's Lacrosse, Athletics Department
McGowan is one of 17 student-athletes from the Atlantic 10 to be nominated for the prestigious honor.
AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts women's lacrosse alumna Fiona McGowan is one of 17 outstanding female student-athletes from the Atlantic 10 to be nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award as announced by the league on Thursday afternoon. The nominees for the A-10 are represented by nine different sports across 13 different league institutions and equal a league record in total nominees set in 2023.
McGowan earned her second consecutive A-10 Offensive Player of the Year honor in 2024 after setting a new Mass single season program record for assists with 56. The attacker compiled a team-leading 88 points on her way to earning Atlantic 10 First-Team and USA Lacrosse Magazine Honorable Mention All-America selections. McGowan finished with multiple assists in 14-of-18 contests during her graduate campaign and ended the regular season ranked third among Division I leaders in assists per game and fifth in total assists.
The Westwood, Mass. native was tabbed first-team all-conference during her senior campaign in 2023 and earned an IWLCA First-Team All-Northeast Region selection after ranking seventh nationally in assists per game and eighth in assists with 48. Her 92 points as a senior ranked 10th among Division I leaders while ranking fourth-most in a single season by a Minutewoman. McGowan also earned USA Lacrosse Magazine Second-Team All-America and ILWomen All-America Honorable Mention honors.
McGowan concluded her collegiate career ranked third all-time at UMass in career assists with 127 and fourth in career points with 247. Her 71 games played is among the top-10 all-time by a Minutewoman while her 120 career goals is 15th-most all-time.
The league's Senior Woman Administrators will vote on the nominees to select two student-athletes who will be named A-10 Woman of the Year and represent the league as 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year conference finalists.
The 17 institutional nominees have been recognized for exceptional athletic prowess, leadership skills, academic success, and service to the respective communities. Each candidates have noteworthy credentials, earning All-Conference awards, participation in postseason competition and academic honors, both form the A-10 and on a national scale. A complete list of the nominees, their sport, hometown and academic studies is included below. A full profile of each candidate will be shared on Atlantic10.com.
One of the most prestigious NCAA awards, the Woman of the Year Award was established in 1991 to celebrate the achievements of women in intercollegiate athletics. Now in its 34th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
Per the NCAA, all conference-level nominees are advanced to the Woman of the Year selection committee. The selection committee will choose the top 10 honorees in each division. From among those 30 honorees, the selection committee will determine the three finalists in each division. Finally, the members of the Committee on Women's Athletics will vote from among the top nine finalists to determine the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year. The top 30 honorees will be honored, and the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced this fall.
