Aston, Pa.  --  Notre Dame of Maryland University's recent 2015 graduate Marylu Ortiz (Oceanside, Calif./El Camino) joined Cabrini College's Megan Decker as the Colonial States Athletic Conference's nominees for the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year Award as voted on by the conference's athletic directors. The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors graduating student-athletes for their collegiate achievements not only athletically, but also in service, leadership and academics. 

Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation, Erin Foley says of Ortiz is a great nominee for this award.  "Marylu Ortiz is a shining example of a student-athlete who excelled in the classroom, on the court, and in her community.  Her athletic achievements in volleyball, basketball and softball at Notre Dame, combined with her passion for service to others make her an outstanding candidate for the NCAA Woman of the Year nomination.  She embodies the ideals of the NCAA Division III philosophy of academic and athletic excellence.  We are proud to call her a true Notre Dame Woman."  
 
"Marylu has been a crucial player for the past 4 years. She has been a starter from day 1 and has started at 4 different positions during that time. She not only started, but was a standout at each position. I have never had a more versatile player in the program. Her ability to fill different roles also allowed her teammates to play to their strength, improving their contributions.  No single student athlete will be able to replace the contributions that Marylu has made here at NDMU," states her volleyball coach, Henry DeTitta.  

Despite her already busy schedule, Ortiz was involved in a myriad of community service efforts, including Project Homeless Connect, Operation Welcome Home, Threads of Hope, March of Dimes, Red Shoe Shuffle and Relay for Life in addition to assisting at the Wienberg House and Kennedy Krieger. A member of the Notre Dame Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Ortiz served as the president of the Omega Phi Alpha National Service Sorority (Alpha Iota Chapter), the Psi Chi International Honor Society and was inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma National Athlete Honor Society.

She was presented with the Psychology Departmental Award in 2014-15 and is a multiple-time CSAC all-academic team member. Notre Dame also recognized Ortiz with the Sister Bernice Feilinger Award, presented to the Outstanding Senior Athlete. The volleyball coaching staff selected Ortiz as the Coaches Award winner in 2011 and her basketball teammates gaver her the Most Improved Award in 2013 and the Teammate Award in 2014.

"I feel extremely blessed and honored to be nominated by both Notre Dame of Maryland University and the Colonial States Athletics Conference for the NCAA Woman of the Year. It is a surreal experience," says Ortiz.   "What I did throughout my collegiate career in my academics, athletics, and community was purely out of a passion I developed throughout my years growing up. Both Notre Dame and the CSAC provided me with the opportunity to not only be a successful student-athlete but also a productive member of the community, without which I would not have been able to reach my full potential in my extracurricular activities these past four years."

Nominees from conferences across the country are forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee. This committee will choose the top 10 honorees in each division. From those 30 candidates, the selection committee will determine the top three in each division. Finally, the members of the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will vote from among the top nine finalists to determine the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year.  

The NCAA established the Woman of the Year Award in 1991 to celebrate the achievements of women in intercollegiate athletics. This year, a total of 480 student-athletes have been nominated across the NCAA, including 180 from Division III.