LOUDONVILLE, NY – A pair of graduating Siena Athletics standouts were chosen to represent the department as Siena's nominees for the prestigious 2021-22 NCAA Woman of the Year award. Women's Lacrosse's Nicole McNeely and Water Polo's Georgia Vargas were each put into consideration for the award following storied careers in the Green and Gold.

The pair join 577 total nominees from across all levels of NCAA athletics, including 248 from the Division I level and six other nominees within the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in being nominated. Rooted in Title IX, the NCAA Woman of the Year Award was established in 1991 to recognize graduating female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service, and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

"It is an incredible honor and privilege to be nominated for this award," McNeely said. "I am so happy to be able to represent Siena in such a positive way."

I'm incredibly honored to be a nominee for this year's NCCA Woman of the Year award", Vargas said. "To be acknowledged alongside countless inspiring athletes across the country is such an awesome feeling. It is nothing short of a blessing!"

"The MAAC is honored to nominate and acknowledge these incredible female student-athletes" said Deputy Commissioner Jessica Grasso. "Their collegiate careers of hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and success both in the classroom and in their sport should be recognized through this prestigious honor."

A five-year member of Siena Women's Lacrosse and a two-year captain, McNeely left the program as one of its all-time greats, helping the Saints reach back-to-back MAAC Championship Games in 2019 & 2021 and clinch a share of the MAAC Regular Season Title for the first time in 17 years. The Wallingford, Pennsylvania native graduated as the program's all-time leader in goals (147), assists (80), and points (227), and ranked fourth in draw controls (156) and fifth in groundballs (136). Named the 2022 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, McNeely was also selected as the Siena Female Student Athlete of the Year for 2021-22, earned All-ECAC honors, and was selected to participate in the 2022 IWLCA Senior All-Star Game.

Off the field, McNeely held a 3.42 cumulative GPA, graduating with her Bachelor's degree in psychology in 2021 and earning a Data and Analytics Certificate in 2022. She was a member of both the MAAC All-Academic Team and MAAC Academic Honor Roll during each year of eligibility, and was also named to the IWLCA All-Academic Honor Roll in 2021. McNeely participated in numerous community service activities with her team and both on and off campus while at Siena, such as serving as a coach for youth lacrosse camps in the local community and mentoring local children. McNeely also served as a volunteer firefighter for the Garden City Fire Company in Pennsylvania.

A four-year member of Siena Water Polo, Vargas captained the squad during her senior year, earning Second Team All-MAAC honors and leading the team in points in 2022. A native of Whittier, California, she appeared in 79 career matches for the saints and graduated sixth in program history in career goals (176), eighth in shots taken (411) and with 204 total points.

Vargas earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology in 2022, and earned numerous academic accolades throughout her time in Loudonville. A three-time ACWPC Academic All-American with "Superior" distinction, she was a three-time Arthur Ashe Jr. Sport Scholar in 2020, 2021, and 2022, and was named a "Sport Winner" in water polo for 2022. A member of both the MAAC All-Academic Team and MAAC Academic Honor Roll throughout her collegiate career, she was Siena's Female Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month for March 2022, and given the Outstanding Academic Athlete Award for water polo upon graduation. Vargas served as the Vice President of Siena's Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) during her senior year, and was invited to attend the MAAC SAAC Council in Florida in October 2021. Her community involvement throughout college included serving as a Peer Education Mentor at Siena, volunteering with the Campus Ministry, and working with an organization called Shelter's Right Hand to help benefit victims of domestic abuse in her home community.

McNeely and Vargas will now be included into a pool of athletes from the MAAC, which will select up to two nominees to represent the conference's 11 members in August. From there, the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose 30 nominees, including 10 from each of its three divisions.

The selection committee will determine the top three honorees from each division out of the top 30 and will announce the nine finalists in September. From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will then select the 2022 NCAA woman of the Year at the NCAA Convention in January, with each of the top 30 invited to celebrate their achievements.