Purdue Northwest's Lena van Bergen - a 2021 graduate and four-year member of the women's tennis team - has been named a conference honoree for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
The Woman of the Year Award, created in 1991, recognizes graduating female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves in athletics, academics, leadership and community service.
Van Bergen is the first Purdue Northwest student-athlete to be nominated by the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). She was recently named the 2020-21 PNW Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and earned a degree in business analytics and management information systems. On the court, van Bergen spent the majority of her tennis playing career at No. 1 Singles and No. 1 Doubles for the Pride. She was involved with community service efforts through her work on PNW's Student Athlete Advisory Committee and worked in the Sports Information office which led to internships at Northwestern University and the Chicago Sky.
Conference offices reviewed all nominees from their member schools. Nationally, 152 conference-level honorees are nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year.
Next, conference-level nominations will be forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year Selection Committee, which will choose the top 10 honorees in each of the three NCAA divisions. The NCAA will announce the Top 30 honorees on ncaa.org in September.
From those 30 candidates, the selection committee determines the top three finalists in each division. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year from the nine finalists. You can learn more about the award, selection process and previous winners at ncaa.org/woty.
The 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced later this fall.
LENA VAN BERGEN:
"I am extremely honored to be nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year and to represent such a strong conference in the GLIAC. Overall, my time spent as a student-athlete at Purdue Northwest for the past four years has shaped me into the person that I am today and developed my leadership ability. It was great to experience the growth and help lead the women's tennis team through the university's move into Division II. I am thrilled to represent PNW and to be selected as a nominee for this award. Thank you to everyone involved in the process."
HEAD COACH LUCIAN TABIC:
"Lena's presence and leadership will be greatly missed by everyone at Purdue Northwest. Her impeccable character, dedication to hard work and eagerness to learn, all briefly describe who she's always been: a great person, a curious learner, and a determined athlete. She deserves this nomination and I'd like to congratulate her on this recognition."
DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS RICK COSTELLO:
"On behalf of the PNW community, I want to congratulate Lena van Bergen on this amazing achievement. Her dedication and hard work in the classroom, in the community and on the tennis court exemplifies what it means to be a successful student-athlete in the NCAA."
