Women's Gymnastics | June 26, 2019
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan gymnast Rachael Underwood has been named a nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Underwood is in the running with a record 585 female college athletes representing 23 different sports from all three NCAA divisions.
Underwood is pursuing a master's degree in occupational therapy and holds a 3.96 GPA. She was a four-year NCAA Regional qualifier, three times qualifying in the all-around. The Cary, Ill., native wrapped up her career holding the meet record in the all-around at 39.350, which she set during her junior season. Underwood was named the MAC Senior Gymnast of the year this season after finishing second in the all-around at the MAC Championships.
She is a three-time Academic All-MAC selection and earned MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete honors in 2019. Underwood was also a recipient of the MAC Medal of Excellence this season.
Underwood was active in and around the Kalamazoo community as a part of the gymnastics team. She was a member of the Western Michigan Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), helping raise money for Christmas gifts for children in need and also helped establish WMU's Wall of Kindness, which displayed messages of encouragement and inclusion during sporting events. Underwood volunteered with other WMU student-athletes to mentor children at the Tree of Life School in Kalamazoo and was also a member of the Student Occupational Therapy Organization (SOTA), helping bring in guest speakers from the field of occupational therapy.
Next, conferences will select up to two nominees each from the pool of school nominees. Then, the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.
The selection committee will determine the top three honorees from each division from the Top 30 and announce the nine finalists in September. From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then will choose the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year.
The Top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year will be named at the annual award ceremony Oct. 20 in Indianapolis.
