Viens Receives Conference Nomination for NCAA Woman of the Year Award
TAMPA, Aug. 11, 2020 – Recent USF graduate
Evelyne Viens was selected as one of the American Athletic Conference's two nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, the NCAA announced today. Viens, the second highest draft pick in USF Athletics history, graduated in December 2019 and now plays for Sky Blue FC in the NWSL.
Viens was one of 605 initial nominations submitted by schools, which broke the previous record for nominations for the award. The L'ancienne-Lorette, Canada, native is now in a pool of 161 conference-level selections, which span all three of the NCAA's divisions. Each conferences can recognize two nominees if at least one is a woman of color or international student-athlete.
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.
"Evelyne is a great choice for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award and we're thrilled that the American Athletic Conference has selected her as one of their nominations," head coach
Denise Schilte-Brown said. "Evelyne embodied the qualities they're looking for while she was at USF, excelling on the field, in the classroom and in the community."
Viens' record-breaking career wrapped up in 2019 with a trip to the NCAA tournament's third round, marking the team's first trip to the round-of-16. She helped push the team to a program-best 16 wins during the season and landed them a new team-high No. 12 final ranking by TopDrawerSoccer.com.
In 77 career games, the Canadian broke over 15 program or conference records, including setting the new USF and American career marks with 73 goals, 169 points and 360 shots. She also tallied new USF single-season marks in points (53) and goals (25). The program's first All-American in 2017 also repeated with the honor twice more, earning a second third-team honor in 2018 and a second-team honor in 2019. In total, Viens logged over 5,800 game minutes on the pitch.
Viens wrapped up the fall semester by graduating with a degree in accounting. Not only a standout on the field, she also earned awards for her performance in the classroom. A 2019 United Soccer Coaches First Team Scholar All-American, Viens was named to the USF Athletics Honor Roll every semester it was awarded and was a four-time member of the American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team.
In the community, Viens spent time volunteering with Paralympic Sport Tampa Bay, NCAA Bounce Blow Up, Boys & Girls Clubs and Metropolitan Ministries while at USF. She was also a member of Schilte-Brown's leadership academy, which helps local youth form better leadership habits and develop personally.
The Woman of the Year Selection Committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will now choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division — from the conference-level nominees. The Top 30 honorees will be announced in September. From there, the selection committee will narrow the pool to three finalists from each division. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2020 Woman of the Year from the nine finalists.
The Top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year will be named this fall.
About USF Women's Soccer
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The USF women's soccer team has posted eight consecutive seasons of 10-plus wins and nine in the last 10 years under head coach Denise Schilte-Brown. The Bulls made their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2010 and returned in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
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