Chantal Van Landeghem and Danielle Galyer Nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year

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Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Former Southeastern Conference swimmers Chantal Van Landeghem of Georgia and Danielle Galyer of Kentucky have been selected as nominees for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

The NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. This marks the 27th year of the Woman of the Year Award program, which was established in 1991.

Van Landeghem graduated in May 2017 with First Honor Graduate status with an overall GPA of 4.0. She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and became the first UGA student-athlete to win the Dean William Tate Award in recognition of a perfect GPA. Van Landeghem was Georgia’s female nominee for the 2017 SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and last month, she was awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. She was also chosen as the SEC Co-Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year for swimming and diving, and she recently was named to the 2017 Academic All-America Division I Women’s At-Large Team.

The native of Winnipeg finished her career as one of the top sprinters in Georgia history. She was a 19-time All-American with two NCAA team titles and one NCAA relay championship. Van Landeghem also claimed 11 SEC individual and relay crowns along with three conference team titles. Representing Canada at the 2016 Olympics, she claimed a bronze medal as a member of the 400-meter freestyle relay.

Galyer, a four-year standout from Kentucky’s women’s swimming and diving program, became the program’s first swimmer to win a national championship when she took the 200-yard backstroke crown at the 2016 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships. A four-time First Team All-American, three-year All-SEC selection and two-year member of the USA National Team, she finished fifth overall in the 200-meter backstroke at the 2016 US Olympic Trials.

Double majoring in psychology and political science, Galyer maintained a 4.0 GPA in her time as a student-athlete. The Greenville, S.C., native was selected as the SEC Women’s Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year for both her sophomore and junior campaigns, and was awarded the NCAA Elite 90 Award in 2016 and 2017. Galyer also served as Kentucky’s SAAC president for two years and was a member of the SEC Community Service Team in 2016.

The NCAA selection committee will choose the top 10 honorees within Divisions I, II and III.  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 the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine. The top 30 honorees will be recognized and the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the annual award ceremony on Oct. 22 in Indianapolis.

Press release courtesy of the SEC./

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Thomas A. Small
6 years ago

Congratulations

Marissa Walsh
6 years ago

Go Dawgs!

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