LOUDONVILLE, NY – Recent Siena Water Polo graduate Georgia Vargas has been selected as one of two nominees from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) for the prestigious 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, the conference announced Monday afternoon. Vargas was selected along with Fairfield Women's Basketball player Rachel Hakes, with the pair making up 151 total nominees across all NCAA levels, including 53 from Division I.
The Whittier, California native becomes the ninth Siena student athlete to be selected as a MAAC nominee since 2006, joining Sarah Forman (2019), Kollyns Scarbrough (2018), Tehresa Coles (2015), Taylor Akana (2014), Leslie Akeo (2013), Tabitha Tice (2011), Laura Woolgar (2007), and Liz Hubbard (2006). Vargas and Siena Women's Lacrosse standout Nicole McNeely were previously announced as Siena's representatives for the award on July 14.
In being selected, Vargas now moved to the next round of voting, which will be conducted by representatives from NCAA membership to narrow the candidate pool down to ten nominees from each division, or 30 in total. 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.
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. 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.
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.
