graduate Ana Gutierrez (), a four-year standout on the women’s soccer team, has been named one of the nine finalists for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, announced Tuesday morning by the national office.
Now in its 17th year, the Woman of the Year award honors exceptional female student-athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics and community leadership, and have completed their collegiate athletics eligibility. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will choose the 2007 NCAA Woman of the Year from among the nine finalists. The winner will be announced during the 17th annual awards dinner October 27 in . While in , Woman of the Year honorees also will participate in a community-service project for Habitat for Humanity.
Capping a four-year span in which she helped the Seattle University women's soccer team to a 58-17-8 record, Gutierrez anchored the defense as the Redhawks finished the 2006 season with a 15-3-2 record, including an 8-1-1 record in conference games that led to Seattle University's first GNAC title since 2001. She became the third women’s soccer player in conference history to be voted First Team All-GNAC four consecutive years, and she moved on to play 11 matches for the San Diego Sunwaves of the USL W-League over the summer.
Previously named , GNAC, and West Region Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Gutierrez graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and Spanish, finishing her undergraduate studies with a 3.905 cumulative GPA. She became the first Seattle University student-athlete since 1985 to earn CoSIDA First Team Academic All-America honors, plus she was a three-time Academic All-GNAC selection as well as a two-time CoSIDA First Team Academic All-District honoree.
In addition to her athletic and academic accomplishments, Gutierrez was involved in numerous community services and campus activities during her collegiate career. She was a volunteer at the El Centro de La Raza Community Center and tutored at both Marshall Elementary School and at the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation at various times in her collegiate career. She was also involved in campus ministry as a Eucharistic minister.
In her personal statement that accompanied her application to the NCAA for this award, Gutierrez wrote, “As a member of the women’s soccer team and a student of an integrated community, I have been blessed with the opportunity to experience the integrity and strength of a bond created between a group of people and the differences that group can make. My experiences of laughter, tears, blood, sweat, the burden of loss and the incredible feeling of success both on and off the field are responsible for empowering me as a confident, passionate and dedicated woman.”