Duke women's golf grad nominated for 2019 NCAA Woman of Year award
Posted June 27, 2019 12:28 p.m. EDT
Durham, N.C. — Duke women's golf graduate Virginia Elena Carta has been nominated by NCAA member schools for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year award.
She's one of a record 585 female college athletes to receive the honor, according to Duke University Sports Information. Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
Carta, the 2016 NCAA Individual Champion, was part of the women's golf team which won the national championship in May. It was the seventh title in school history for Duke. She also became the fourth Duke golfer to win both a NCAA team and individual title.
A native of Udine, Italy, Carta was recently selected a Good Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-America and Honorable Mention All-America by both Golfweek and Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA). A four-time women’s golf All-ACC Academic Team member and 2019 ACC Women’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Carta also earned four All-ACC selections over her Duke career.
She spearheaded the creation of the Birdies for Babies program at Duke to help raise money for the Duke Children’s Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units. Concluding year two of the program, it raised $36,822.75 to help the children.
As a senior, she notched a 73.57 stroke average and collected her second collegiate victory at the Landfall Tradition. Carta had two top 10 finishes on the year and went 2-1 in match play to conclude the NCAA Championship. She received a degree in Environmental Sciences and Policy in May and held a 3.91 grade-point average.
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.
