Caitlin Lyons Named Top Nine Finalist for NCAA Woman of the Year

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INDIANAPOLIS – Recent University of Georgia equestrian Caitlin Lyons has been named one of nine finalists for the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, the award’s selection committee announced Wednesday afternoon.

The nine finalists consist of three student-athletes from each NCAA division. Each finalist was selected for her outstanding achievements in academics, athletics, community service and leadership.

Representing Division I, the finalist are Lyons, Isabella Whittaker (Penn) and Riley Felts (Charlotte). The finalists from Division II are Anna Grossheim (UNC Pembroke), Samantha Pirosko (Gannon) and Shelby Robb (Metropolitan State University of Denver). Division III finalists are Maddy Miles (Mount Union), Hannah Rossie (Case Western Reserve) and Alexandra Turvey (Pomona-Pitzer).

Lyons was previously nominated by the University of Georgia and the Southeastern Conference as she advanced to the Top 30. The NCAA Woman of the Year program was established in 1991 and honors the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership of graduating female college athletes from all three divisions. To be eligible, a nominee must have competed and earned a varsity letter in an NCAA-sponsored sport and must have earned her undergraduate degree by summer 2024.

The Woman of the Year Selection Committee selected 10 student-athletes from each division to determine the Top 30 honorees. Of the Top 30, the committee announced nine finalists, with three from each NCAA division. From the nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics then selects the NCAA Woman of the Year, who is named during an awards presentation at the NCAA Convention in January.

Lyons is the second equestrian to receive a nomination for NCAA Woman of the Year. She joins fellow former Bulldog Emma Mandarino, who was a Top 30 candidate in 2019.

Four Georgia student-athletes have won the NCAA Woman of the Year Award, including three swimmers: Lisa Coole (1997), Kristy Kowal (2000), and Kim Black (2001). Most recently, track and field athlete Keturah Orji was honored in 2018. Lyons is the 17th Bulldog to represent Georgia for this honor.

Lyons earned bachelor’s degrees in both ecology and French and is currently enrolled in the Master of Natural Resources program. She served as the equestrian representative for the UGA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was inducted into the Student-Athlete Leadership Academy in 2020. In her junior year, Lyons was named the 2022 SEC Reining Rider of the Year and earned a spot on the 2022 All-SEC Reining Team and the 2022 National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) All-American Reining Second Team. During her sophomore season, she was a part of the Georgia squad that captured the 2021 NCEA National Championship, the Bulldogs’ seventh overall title.

Lyons was a four-time member of the Spring SEC Academic Honor Roll and a three-time member of the NCEA All-Academic First Team. She was also a three-time recipient of the University of Georgia Presidential Scholar Honors and was named to the J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Honor Roll every semester. Lyons was Georgia’s female nominee for the 2023-24 Brad Davis SEC Community Service Leader of the Year. She was also a recipient of the 2021-22 Ramsey Scholarship for Academic Excellence. The 2024 SEC Equestrian Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Lyons earned one of the Fall 2023-24 women’s recipients of an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

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November 20, 2024

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