Baltimore, Md. — 2016 Notre Dame of Maryland University graduate Emily Jordan (Bel Air, Md./ C. Milton Wright) was nominated for the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.  Jordan is among 169 Division III nominees this year.  The 517 nominated student-athletes across NCAA Division I, II, and III, is the largest nominated class in the 26-year history of the award.  This award honors graduating female student-athletes who have "distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academics, athletics, service and leadership."

Director of Athletics and Recreation, Erin Foley was excited to have Emily Jordan be Notre Dame's nominee for Woman of the Year.  "Emily Jordan is a truly gifted and driven student-athlete. She has committed herself to excellence in both the classroom and the pool, and truly represents the ideals of the this award.  She has the Division III mission at heart and is a true Notre Dame Woman."  

Jordan earned four varsity letters for swimming at Notre Dame, while maintaining 3.90 GPA as an Elementary and Special Education major.  A three year captain, Jordan posted five individual school records, while being part of four school record relay teams.  In 2016, Jordan posted school records in the 200-yard butterfly and 400-yard individual medley. In her 2013-14 season, Jordan broke school records in the 200-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley (breaking her own record set in the 2012-13).  In the ODAC championships, Jordan placed in the top 10 overall in the 200-yard breaststroke three times and finished 9th overall in the 200-yard individual medley in 2015.

Emily Jordan also secured several awards in her time at Notre Dame.  She was awarded the Sister Patricia Mclauglin Award in 2013 for the most outstanding underclassman and won the Mary Laverty Funke Award for Spirit, Dedication, and Scholarship in 2015.  In her last three seasons, Jordan was named the swim team MVP.

Academically, Emily Jordan made the Dean's List in every semesters since her freshman year and was members of Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society (Athletics Honor Society), Elizabeth Morrissey Honor Society, and Delta Epsion Sigma, serving as the Vice President.  Jordan was named the 2015 Educator of Promise and won the School Sisters of Notre Dame Community Service Award.  Emily Jordan graduated Summa Cum Laude from Notre Dame in May.  

In support of the community, Emily Jordan volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, Bluewater Baltimore, and Dream Academy.  As a leader, she was a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative for the swim team, she is a coach for the Fountain Green Swim club, and worked as a Student Ambassador at Notre Dame, helping the Admissions Department by giving campus tours and planning events.

"I take a lot of pride in my collegiate athletics experience. I accomplished a lot of goals that never seemed feasible to me prior to my first collegiate season," says Jordan.  "As a leader, I would strive to be the best example of a student-athlete I could be. I worked hard everyday in the pool. I worked hard in the classroom. I encouraged my teammates to join me on as volunteer mentors for students at an after school program. I was someone they could confide in. I know I would not be the woman I am today if it were not for my experience as a student athlete."

For the Woman of the Year Award, conferences will select up to two nominees and then the Woman of the Year committee will choose the top 30 - 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 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year.   The top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 16 in Indianapolis."