Indianapolis, Ind. – The NCAA announced nominees for their annual Woman of the Year award this week, an honor that is given to a senior student-athlete that stood out in the classroom, athletics, and in their community.

In the 27^th year for the award, a record-number, 543 female student-athletes were nominated across Division I, II, and III institutions.  Of the 543 nominees, 197 were from Division III schools, nine of which were student-athletes from the Colonial States Athletic Conference.  Once nominated by member institutions, the CSAC nominates up to two student-athletes to go to the Woman of the Year selection committee, which will narrow the pool to 30 honorees, 10 from each division.

Senior volleyball student-athlete, Cleaya Antes, was Notre Dame of Maryland University's 2017 nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year and was one of two student-athletes selected by the CSAC to represent the conference.  Softball student-athlete, Haley Broomell from Neumann University, was also selected.

For the second-time in three years and third-time in seven years, Notre Dame had a student-athlete selected from the CSAC to move on in the selection process.  Marylu Ortiz and Lauren Terry were CSAC's nominees in 2015 and 2010, respectively for the award.

A four-year stand out on the volleyball team, Antes had many academic and athletic recognitions throughout her career.   While earning four varsity letters at Notre Dame, Antes maintained a 3.9 GPA as a Nursing major.  A four-year starter and three-year captain, Antes left her mark on the Notre Dame and CSAC record books, finishing with several match and career records including 1,694 career digs, good for second for Notre Dame and sixth in the CSAC.

For the conference, she was named 2013 CSAC Rookie of the Year and was named to an All-Conference team all four-years.  In her senior season, she earned the inaugural CSAC Defensive Player of the Year honor, leading the conference in digs per set.  She helped lead the volleyball team to four playoff appearances, ending her career with the team's first ever playoff victory at Marywood.  At Notre Dame, she earned the Sister Patricia McLauglin Award for Outstanding Underclass Student-Athlete in 2014 and 2015 and won the Sister Bernice Feilinger Award for Outstanding Senior Student-Athlete in 2017.

In the classroom, Antes was named to the Dean's List throughout her academic career and was named to the CSAC All-Academic Team all four seasons.  She was an Elizabeth Morrissy Honor Scholar and is a member of Delta Epsilon Sigma, Sigma Theta Tau, and Chi Alpha Sigma honor societies.

As a nursing major, Antes volunteered and worked for several hospitals in the area including Good Samaritan, Sinai, Johns Hopkins, and UMD Medical Center.  In the spring, she traveled to Haiti for the Community Coalition for Haiti to help bring health education to rural villages that do not have immediate access to healthcare.  She also volunteered at Healthcare for the Homeless to help teach about the importance of flu shots and to administer them.

Athletic Director, Erin Foley was thrilled to have Antes nominated this year saying, "Cleaya Antes is an outstanding example of a model student-athlete.  Her athletic and academic achievements, coupled with her service to others, make her an ideal candidate for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year nomination.  We are proud of her achievements and thank her for positively representing NDMU Athletics and her team."

Visit ncaa.org for the full release from the NCAA featuring all 543 nominees.