Kayla Tennant of Queens University of Charlotte has advanced as a conference finalist for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year award. Tennant joins 16 others swimmers and divers who were nominated by their respective conferences.
Tennant was one of 30 athletes nominated from a sport in which their primary conference does not sponsor, or they competed for an independent school. Five of those 30 athletes were selected as conference finalists.
This past season, Queens was a primary member of the Division II South Atlantic Conference (SAC) but competed in the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships as SAC does not sponsor swimming. Earlier this year, the school voted to become Division I, joining the ASUN Conference which also does not sponsor swimming.
In the 2022 championships season, Tenant finaled in three individual events at the NCAA Division II Championships. She also captured an individual conference title winning the 200 fly in a 2:01.63.
Originally, 577 student-athletes were nominated for NCAA woman of the year. That number is now down to 156, with 17 of them being swimmers or divers.
In October, the Woman of the Year Selection Committee will narrow the list to 30 athletes including 10 athletes from each division. Then, the 30 women will be narrowed down to nine finalists consisting of three from each division. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will vote from the nine finalists and the winner will be announced in January 2023.
The 17 swimmers and divers selected by their conferences are:
| NAME | SCHOOL | DIVISION | CONFERENCE |
| Savannah Brennan | Florida Institute of Technology | DII | Sunshine State Conference |
| Elizabeth Caird | Saginaw Valley State University | DII | Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
| Zoe Chan | The College Of New Jersey | DIII | New Jersey Athletic Conference |
| Brooke Forde | Stanford University | DI | Pac-12 Conference |
| Ciara Franke | University of California, San Diego | DI | Big West Conference |
| Ellen Gilbert | Illinois Wesleyan University | DIII | College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin |
| Clio Hancock | Emory | DIII | University Athletic Association |
| Sydney Harrington | U.S. Naval Academy | DI | Patriot League |
| Macy Klein | St. Catherine University | DIII | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
| Susan Elizabeth LaGrand | Oakland University | DI | Horizon League |
| Drew Lei-Alerta | Sarah Lawrence College | DIII | Skyline Conference |
| Emmerson Ann Mirus | Kenyon College | DIII | North Coast Athletic Conference |
| Emma Nordin | Arizona State University | DI | Pac-12 Conference |
| Siena Senn | Davidson College | DI | Atlantic 10 |
| Grace Sill | Sunshine State Conference | DII | Sunshine State Conference |
| Cydney Liebenberg | University of Illinois Chicago | DI | Horizon League |
| Kayla Tennant | Queens University of Charlotte | DII | Independent/Nonprimary Conference Nominee |
The full list of 156 remaining athletes is:
| Conference | Nominee | School | Division | Sport(s) |
| Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference | Kiara Perkins | Alfred State College | Division III | Volleyball |
| Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference | Ashley Schroeder | Hilbert College | Division III | Basketball |
| America East Conference | Courtney Coppersmith | University of Maryland, Baltimore County | Division I | Softball |
| American Athletic Conference | Michelle Joyce | Temple University | Division I | Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| American Athletic Conference | Ellie Leather | University of Cincinnati | Division I | Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| American Rivers Conference | Reagan Janzen | Nebraska Wesleyan University | Division III | Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| American Southwest Conference | Taylor Singleton | East Texas Baptist University | Division III | Basketball |
| ASUN Conference | Amani Johnson | Kennesaw State University | Division I | Basketball |
| ASUN Conference | Cortney VanLiew | Florida Gulf Coast University | Division I | Beach Volleyball, Volleyball |
| Atlantic 10 Conference | Kira Kopec | University of Massachusetts, Amherst | Division I | Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Atlantic 10 Conference | Siena Senn | Davidson College | Division I | Swimming and Diving |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | Jaeda Daniel | North Carolina State University | Division I | Tennis |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | Gabriela Leon | University of Louisville | Division I | Outdoor Track and Field |
| Atlantic East Conference | Caitlyn Dunn | Marymount University (Virginia) | Division III | Lacrosse |
| Atlantic East Conference | Ariana Pena | Neumann University | Division III | Volleyball |
| Big 12 Conference | Ayoka Lee | Kansas State University | Division I | Basketball |
| Big 12 Conference | Grace Lyons | University of Oklahoma | Division I | Softball |
| Big East Conference | Marija Jovicic | DePaul University | Division I | Tennis |
| Big East Conference | McKenna Keegan | Villanova University | Division I | Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Big Sky Conference | Darri Dotson | Southern Utah University | Division I | Basketball |
| Big Sky Conference | Pei-Hsuan (Patty) Kuo | Weber State University | Division I | Tennis |
| Big South Conference | Claudia Prieto Alcaide | University of North Carolina Asheville | Division I | Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Big South Conference | Julianna Sanchez | Campbell University | Division I | Lacrosse |
| Big Ten Conference | Kerry Abello | Pennsylvania State University | Division I | Soccer |
| Big Ten Conference | Amirah Ali | Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick | Division I | Soccer |
| Big West Conference | Ciara Franke | University of California, San Diego | Division I | Swimming and Diving, Water Polo |
| Big West Conference | Brooke Van Sickle | University of Hawaii, Manoa | Division I | Beach Volleyball, Volleyball |
| California Collegiate Athletic Association | Alexis Cardoza | California State University, San Bernardino | Division II | Volleyball |
| California Collegiate Athletic Association | Ayana Fields | California State Polytechnic University, Pomona | Division II | Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Centennial Conference | Elaina Clancy | Dickinson College | Division III | Cross Country, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Centennial Conference | Diarra Oden | Johns Hopkins University | Division III | Basketball |
| Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference | Shayla Morales | Felician University | Division II | Cross Country |
| Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference | Hanna Thrainsdottir | Georgian Court University | Division II | Basketball, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Bethany Henry | Virginia State University | Division II | Volleyball |
| City University of New York Athletic Conference | Chanel Jemmott | Brooklyn College | Division III | Basketball, Softball |
| City University of New York Athletic Conference | Lauren Kraker | Baruch College | Division III | Tennis |
| Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference | Riley Cook | Christopher Newport University | Division III | Soccer |
| College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin | Alyssa Aragon | North Park University | Division III | Softball |
| College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin | Ellen Gilbert | Illinois Wesleyan University | Division III | Swimming and Diving |
| Colonial Athletic Association | Karson Harris | Drexel University | Division I | Lacrosse |
| Colonial Athletic Association | Lucy Porter | Hofstra University | Division I | Soccer |
| Colonial States Athletic Conference | Brittney Strauss | Rosemont College | Division III | Softball |
| Commonwealth Coast Conference | Erica Dimmick | University of New England | Division III | Basketball, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer |
| Conference Carolinas | Destiny Johnson | Lees-McRae College | Division II | Basketball |
| Conference Carolinas | Jami Tham | Barton College | Division II | Basketball |
| Conference USA | Nicole Lennon | Rice University | Division I | Volleyball |
| Conference USA | Audrey Tan | University of North Texas | Division I | Golf |
| East Coast Conference | Simone Parn | University of the District of Columbia | Division II | Tennis |
| East Coast Conference | Katie Titus | Daemen University | Division II | Basketball |
| Empire 8 | Sydney Przygoda | Utica University | Division III | Basketball |
| Great American Conference | Serena Gill | Southern Arkansas University | Division II | Tennis |
| Great American Conference | Autumn “Tymber” Riley | Arkansas Tech University | Division II | Softball, Volleyball |
| Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | Elizabeth Caird | Saginaw Valley State University | Division II | Swimming and Diving |
| Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | Laura De Marchi | Michigan Technological University | Division II | Volleyball |
| Great Lakes Valley Conference | Jamie Poppen | Lewis University | Division II | Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Volleyball |
| Great Midwest Athletic Conference | Rachel Sweeney | Cedarville University | Division II | Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Great Northeast Athletic Conference | Emily Fagundo | Regis College (Massachusetts) | Division III | Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Volleyball |
| Great Northwest Athletic Conference | Sophia Chilczuk | Seattle Pacific University | Division II | Soccer |
| Great Northwest Athletic Conference | Tennae Voliva | University of Alaska Anchorage | Division II | Basketball |
| Gulf South Conference | Celine Ritter | Lee University | Division II | Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Gulf South Conference | Evelina Teran | University of Montevallo | Division II | Volleyball |
| Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference | Kalin Hubble | Defiance College | Division III | Softball |
| Horizon League | Susan Elizabeth LaGrand | Oakland University | Division I | Swimming and Diving |
| Horizon League | Cydney Liebenberg | University of Illinois Chicago | Division I | Swimming and Diving |
| Independent/Nonprimary Conference Nominee | Eliza Jane Beaudin | Elmira College | Division III | Ice Hockey |
| Independent/Nonprimary Conference Nominee | Malen Iglesias | Fairfield University | Division I | Field Hockey |
| Independent/Nonprimary Conference Nominee | Jessica Meakim | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | Division II | Gymnastics |
| Independent/Nonprimary Conference Nominee | Kendall Sanders | Centenary College (Louisiana) | Division III | Gymnastics |
| Independent/Nonprimary Conference Nominee | Kayla Tennant | Queens University of Charlotte | Division II | Swimming and Diving |
| Landmark Conference | Clare Richards | Catholic University | Division III | Lacrosse |
| Liberty League | Julia Keogh | Hobart and William Smith Colleges | Division III | Soccer |
| Little East Conference | Kaitlyn Bernier | University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth | Division III | Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer |
| Lone Star Conference | Faith DeLaGarza | Dallas Baptist University | Division II | Golf |
| Lone Star Conference | Sarah Preston | St. Edward’s University | Division II | Soccer |
| Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference | Julia Ravenelle | Worcester State University | Division III | Ice Hockey, Lacrosse |
| Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference | Rachel Hakes | Fairfield University | Division I | Basketball |
| Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference | Georgia Vargas | Siena College | Division I | Water Polo |
| Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Kenedy Schoonveld | Hope College | Division III | Basketball |
| Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association | Andrea Marie Morales | Rogers State University | Division II | Softball |
| Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association | Faith Rottinghaus | Washburn University | Division II | Volleyball |
| Mid-American Conference | Ivana Shah | University of Akron | Division I | Golf |
| Mid-American Conference | Stephanie Sherman | University of Toledo | Division I | Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth | Sarah Reinert | Alvernia University | Division III | Softball |
| Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom | Elizabeth Chu | Stevens Institute of Technology | Division III | Volleyball |
| Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom | Averi Jordan | DeSales University | Division III | Basketball |
| Middle Atlantic Conferences | Esther Seeland | Messiah University | Division III | Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer |
| Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference | Cathryn Lane | Coppin State University | Division I | Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Midwest Conference | Josie Klein | Lake Forest College | Division III | Softball |
| Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | Macy Klein | St. Catherine University | Division III | Swimming and Diving |
| Missouri Valley Conference | Ashley Santos | Illinois State University | Division I | Soccer |
| Mountain East Conference | Malaika Kimmons | West Virginia Wesleyan College | Division II | Basketball |
| Mountain East Conference | Audrey Tingle | West Liberty University | Division II | Basketball |
| Mountain West Conference | Andrea Howard | University of New Mexico | Division I | Softball |
| New England Collegiate Conference | Ruth Aguilar | Eastern Nazarene College | Division III | Volleyball |
| New England Small College Athletic Conference | Sharde Johnson | Colby College | Division III | Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| New England Small College Athletic Conference | Erin Nicholas | Middlebury College | Division III | Field Hockey, Lacrosse |
| New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference | Karenna Groff | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Division III | Soccer |
| New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference | Ari Marks | Wellesley College | Division III | Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| New Jersey Athletic Conference | Zoe Chan | The College of New Jersey | Division III | Swimming and Diving |
| New Jersey Athletic Conference | Jennifer LaRocca | The College of New Jersey | Division III | Lacrosse |
| North Atlantic Conference | McKenna Brodeur | University of Maine, Farmington | Division III | Basketball, Soccer |
| North Coast Athletic Conference | Giselle Bahena | Hiram College | Division III | Softball |
| North Coast Athletic Conference | Emmerson Ann Mirus | Kenyon College | Division III | Swimming and Diving |
| Northeast Conference | Angelia Rafter | Central Connecticut State University | Division I | Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Northeast-10 Conference | Jackie Brown | Adelphi University | Division II | Field Hockey |
| Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference | Megan Fast | Benedictine University (Illinois) | Division III | Softball |
| Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference | Simone Wilson | Concordia University Chicago | Division III | Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference | Jena Berkland | Concordia University, St. Paul | Division II | Soccer |
| Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference | D’Andra Morris | University of Mary | Division II | Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Northwest Conference | Maggie Fiocchi | Linfield University | Division III | Tennis |
| Ohio Athletic Conference | Alex Heishman | John Carroll University | Division III | Lacrosse |
| Ohio Valley Conference | Lindsey Carlson | Eastern Illinois University | Division I | Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer |
| Old Dominion Athletic Conference | Olivia Weinel | Shenandoah University | Division III | Basketball |
| Pac-12 Conference | Brooke Forde | Stanford University | Division I | Swimming and Diving |
| Pac-12 Conference | Emma Nordin | Arizona State University | Division I | Swimming and Diving |
| Pacific West Conference | Lauryn Henderson | Academy of Art University | Division II | Softball |
| Pacific West Conference | Jodi Lillie | University of Hawaii at Hilo | Division II | Soccer |
| Patriot League | Sydney Harrington | U.S. Naval Academy | Division I | Swimming and Diving |
| Patriot League | Victoria Tran | U.S. Naval Academy | Division I | Soccer |
| Peach Belt Conference | Morgan Curley | Young Harris College | Division II | Softball |
| Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference | Jazmin Petrantonio | Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania | Division II | Field Hockey |
| Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference | Kayleigh Pokrivka | East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania | Division II | Lacrosse |
| Presidents’ Athletic Conference | Alyson Johnson | Waynesburg University | Division III | Tennis, Volleyball |
| Presidents’ Athletic Conference | Megan Parker | Westminster College (Pennsylvania) | Division III | Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | Zoe Baker | Colorado School of Mines | Division II | Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | Yasmine Hernandez | Colorado State University Pueblo | Division II | Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Skyline Conference | Estee Brooks | Yeshiva University | Division III | Cross Country |
| Skyline Conference | Drew Lei-Alerta | Sarah Lawrence College | Division III | Swimming and Diving |
| South Atlantic Conference | Raya Coley | Coker University | Division II | Basketball |
| South Atlantic Conference | Savannah S Moorefield | Lenoir-Rhyne University | Division II | Softball |
| Southeastern Conference | Samantha Rose Drop | University of Georgia | Division I | Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Southeastern Conference | Trinity Thomas | University of Florida | Division I | Gymnastics |
| Southern Athletic Association | Cameron Zak | Centre College | Division III | Soccer |
| Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | Ciannah Correa | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | Division III | Soccer |
| Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | Sophie Srivastava | Chapman University | Division III | Volleyball |
| Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference | Kelly Jurden | Texas Lutheran University | Division III | Softball, Volleyball |
| Southern Conference | Emily Coltharp | University of Tennessee at Chattanooga | Division I | Softball |
| Southland Conference | Kaitlin Smith | Houston Baptist University | Division I | Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Southwestern Athletic Conference | Hannah White | Jackson State University | Division I | Outdoor Track and Field |
| Southwestern Athletic Conference | Ameshya Williams-Holliday | Jackson State University | Division I | Basketball |
| State University of New York Athletic Conference | Madison Mulder | State University of New York at Geneseo | Division III | Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field |
| Sun Belt Conference | Tiffany Arafi | Coastal Carolina University | Division I | Golf |
| Sun Belt Conference | Melissa Mayeux | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | Division I | Softball |
| Sunshine State Conference | Savannah Brennan | Florida Institute of Technology | Division II | Swimming and Diving |
| Sunshine State Conference | Grace Sill | Florida Southern College | Division II | Swimming and Diving |
| The Ivy League | Sylvie Binder | Columbia University-Barnard College | Division I | Fencing |
| The Summit League | Chloe Lamb | University of South Dakota | Division I | Basketball |
| United East Conference | Emelia Beldon | Gallaudet University | Division III | Basketball, Soccer |
| University Athletic Association | Clio Hancock | Emory University | Division III | Swimming and Diving |
| Upper Midwest Athletic Conference | Sydney Schwitters | University of Northwestern-St. Paul | Division III | Volleyball |
| USA South Athletic Conference | Hannah Thompson | Averett University | Division III | Softball |
| West Coast Conference | Madison Shields | Pepperdine University | Division I | Beach Volleyball, Volleyball |
| Western Athletic Conference | Gianna Nicoletti | Grand Canyon University | Division I | Softball |
| Western Athletic Conference | Ane Olaeta | California Baptist University | Division I | Basketball |
| Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | Callie Hoff | University of Wisconsin-River Falls | Division III | Ice Hockey |
| Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | Rahdea Jarvis | University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh | Division III | Gymnastics |
