ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – A pair of UCF alumnae have been nominated for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year award. Volleyball’s Jordan Pingel and women’s basketball’s Tolulope Omokore are among the 11 American Athletic Conference candidates in consideration for the honor.
The pair are in the running with a record 585 female college athletes representing multiple sports across NCAA Divisions I, II and III.
From here, The American will select up to two nominees to continue on in the award selection process. In August, the Woman of the Year selection committee will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division. The selection committee will determine the top three honorees from each division and announce the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will then 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.
Pingel closed her illustrious four-year career at UCF with AVCA All-America and All-Southeast Region honors. The Colorado Springs, Colo., native smashed ever previous libero record over the course of her four campaigns as a starter. Pingel broke the career and single-season records for total digs and digs per set, becoming the first player in program history to eclipse the 2,000-save plateau.
Pingel was named to the 2018 First Team All-Conference in The American as a senior. She guided the Knights to a perfect 18-0 mark in league play for the program’s first conference title since 2014. Pingel helped UCF make even more history when it was named as a host site for the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
After missing the entire 2017-18 season with an ACL injury, Omokore returned to UCF’s lineup for all 33 contests. As a sophomore, she was the only Knight to start all 33 games. She collected 233 of her 379 career rebounds on the offensive glass. During her freshman season, she collected 20 boards, which is tied for the eighth-most rebounds in a single game at UCF. She also holds the rookie record for single-game offensive rebounds at The American Championship.
A two-time Heart of the Knight recipient, Omokore helped UCF to its first WNIT bid – and the program’s first Division I postseason victory – in 2017. This season, the College Park, Md., native played a role in UCF’s first at-large NCAA Tournament bid in program history while setting a program record with a 26-7 overall record.