Recent Division I Missouri State swimmer Lily DeSpain and Division III swimmer Alexandra Turvey from Pomona-Pitzer College have been selected as part of the top 30 honorees for NCAA Woman of the Year.
DeSpain swam for Missouri State for two years, collecting records and gold medals along the way.
At the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Championships in February, she set records in the 400 IM (4:14.92), 400 freestyle relay (3:18.27), and 800 freestyle relay (7:12.19). She claimed 1st place in her three individual races at the meet, swimming a new best time in the 500 free by 3.07 seconds (4:48.23), a personal best in the 200 fly by 3.22 seconds (1:58.89), and a PR in the 400 IM by 2.98 seconds (4:14.92).
DeSpain was the women’s high-point winner for the meet, bringing the Bears to its eighth consecutive MVC Championships victory.
At the 2023 MVC Championships, DeSpain scored in the top 10 for all of her individual events. She took home 9th in the 500 free (4:54.65), 6th in the 200 fly (2:03.07), and 1st in the 400 IM (4:17.90).
Last July, she placed 8th in the 200 fly at the Speedo Sectionals in Columbia, swimming a 2:26.55.
“Missouri State is honored to have a student-athlete selected for this prestigious honor,” said Missouri State Director of Athletics Patrick Ransdell in a statement. “Lily represents everything that is great about intercollegiate athletics and the student-athlete experience. On behalf of our entire department, I want to extend a sincere congratulations to her for being named to the NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30.”
Not only did DeSpain excel in the water, but she also graduated with academic accomplishments, being part of the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team in both seasons, as well as making the All-MVC first team. In 2024, she was named MVC Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Before transferring to Missouri, DeSpain swam for the U.S. Naval Academy from 2020-2022. She is currently enrolled at the University of Arkansas Medical System School of Medicine in her home state after graduating from Missouri State with a degree in cell and molecular biology in 2024. She is currently an active second lieutenant in the United States Army.
DeSpain was selected out of a record-breaking 627 nominated student-athletes to make the top list. The top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the NCAA divisions, and represent 15 sports. The selected women have a vast range of majors, from neuroscience, to nursing, to sport management.
Turvey, a Division III swimmer from Pomona-Pitzer College in Vancouver, was also selected. Turvey was a three-time finalist at the NCAA Division III Championship in March, finishing 1st in the 100 fly (53.57), 2nd in the 50 free (22.58), and 2nd in the 100 free (49.56).
She competed at this year’s Canadian Olympic trials, finishing 18th in the 50 free.
Turvey was named SCIAC Female Swimmer of the Year three times throughout college, and graduated with a degree in biology.
Cooper McKenna of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps is representing water polo players on the list. The Division III athlete assisted her program to its first 20-win season in 20 years, leading them to back-to-back appearances in the USA Water Polo Division III National Championship.
Outside of the pool, McKenna served as a cadet in the Army ROTC, and was valedictorian of her graduating class. McKenna majored in biology after conducting research on treating bacterial infections throughout college.
“These honorees represent the very best of what it means to be a student-athlete, and the character-building potential that is inherent in all athletic pursuits. They have distinguished themselves among the many thousands of collegiate athletes who find and surpass their limits every day on the journey to becoming their best selves, not just in sport, but in life,” said Marion Terenzio, chair of the Woman of the Year Selection Committee and president of SUNY Cobleskill, in a release.
“I congratulate all of the remarkable women named to the Top 30 and applaud their demonstrated ability to create positive change in themselves and in the world around them.”
The selection committee will narrow the honorees down to nine finalists, three from each division. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will ultimately select the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year, presenting the award at the NCAA Convention this January.
Multiple swimmers and divers made the 2023 NCAA Top 30 Woman of the Year list, including:
- Ann Carozza – West Chester University – swimming
- Callie Dickinson – University of Georgia – swimming
- Delaney Schnell – University of Arizona – diving
- Kristen Hayden – Indiana University – diving
All-time swimming and diving winners:
- Asia Seidt – University of Kentucky – 2020
- Margaret Guo – Massachusetts Institute of Technology – 2016
- Kristin Day – Clarion University of Pennsylvania – 2015
- Laura Barito – Stevens Institute of Technology – 2011
- Justine Schluntz – University of Arizona – 2010
- Lacey Nymeyer – University of Arizona – 2009
- Whitney Myers – University of Arizona – 2007
- Lauryn McCalley – University of Tennessee – 2005
- Ashley Jo Rowatt – Kenyon College – 2003
- Kimberly A. Black – University of Georiga – 2001
- Kristy Kowal – University of Georgia – 2000
- Lisa Ann Coole – University of Georgia – 1997
- Catherine Byrne – University of Tennessee – 1992
