Georgia’s Chantal van Landeghem Named to NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30

Three All-American swimmers have been named to the NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30 list (essentially, semi-finalists): Georgia’s Chantal van Landeghem, Kenyon’s Eliana (Ellie) Crawford, and William Smith College’s Caroline Conboy.

The pair, both of whom ended their collegiate careers at their respective 2017 NCAA Championship meets, have taken different paths after graduation.

Van Landeghem has continued her swimming career. Building off a 2016 Olympic bronze medal as part of Canada’s 400 free relay, she earned more bronzes as part of Canada’s mixed 400 free and medley relays at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest. She was also on Canada’s women’s 400 free and medley relays that both took 4th place.

Crawford, meanwhile, has taken up shop at the University of Michigan, where she’s conducting research in ocean tide modeling and banded iron formations. She’s there on an NCAA postgraduate scholarship.

Van Landeghem held a perfect 4.0 GPA in her four years at Georgia and became the first UGA student-athlete to win the Dean William Tate Award in recognition of a perfect GPA. In the pool, she was a 19-time CSCAA All-American, won 2 NCAA team titles, and 1 NCAA relay championship. She also won 11 SEC event titles and 3 conference team titles.

3 prior Georgia Bulldog swimmers have been named NCAA Woman of the Year: Lisa Coole (1997), Kristy Kowal (2000), and Kim Black (2001).

Crawford graduated from Kenyon with a 3.96 GPA and a degree in Physics. As an athlete, she raced at 3 NCAA Division III Championship meets and was a 4-time All-American. That includes an 8th-place finish in the 200 breaststroke as a senior.

“Honestly, I was speechless when I heard the news,” Crawford said. “Being surrounded by so many motivated and brilliant people is both humbling and inspiring. I hope this nomination serves as a testament to the level of excellence achieved daily by the students, faculty and staff members at Kenyon.”

She’s the 6th Kenyon female swimmer to make the Top 30 list, including 2003 NCAA Woman of the Year winner Ashley Rowatt.

Conboy was an 8-time school record setter and 4-time Division III All-American at William Smith College. She graduated with a 3.94 GPA and a degree in psychology and education.

Conboy had her best seasons in the pool as a junior and a senior, including an 8th-place finish in the 100 breaststroke in 2016 at the NCAA Championships.

The Top 30 is made up of 10 athletes from each of the NCAA’s 3 divisions. The top 9 will be announced on September 26th, and that group will be honored at a ceremony later this year in Indianapolis.

Established in 1991 and now in its 27th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

To read bios on all 30 honorees, click here.

2017 NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30 Honorees

• Sabrina Anderson, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
• Serena Barr, Liberty University
• Kaitlyn Brunworth, Wingate University
• Clare Carlson, Grand Valley State University
• Jennifer Carmichael, University of Oklahoma
• Caroline Conboy, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
• Eliana Crawford, Kenyon College
• Lizzy Crist, Washington University in St. Louis
• Alyssa Domico, Dominican University (Illinois)
• Laura Rose Donegan, University of New Hampshire
• Brooke Donnelly, Washington and Lee University
• Christina Gibbons, Duke University
• Maryann Gong, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Chardae Greenlee, University of Memphis
• Morgan Hasty, Johnson C. Smith University
• Olivia Hompe, Princeton University
• Nicole Hoynaski, Hawaii Pacific University
• Jessica January, DePaul University
• Jamie Johnson, Lewis University
• Allison Kosobud, College of Saint Benedict
• Katie Krick, Nebraska Wesleyan University
• Juliana Madzia, University of Cincinnati
• Kaina Martinez, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
• Christina Melian, Stony Brook University
• Jelena Momirov, Barry University
• Natalie O’Keefe, Southwest Baptist University
• Jayme Perez, East Texas Baptist University
• Maddie Pronovost, Middlebury College
• Cashlee Rayas, Dallas Baptist University
• Chantal Van Landeghem, University of Georgia