ST. PAUL – Northland College’s Chelsea Lundgren was named the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference’s (UMAC) nominee for the NCAA’s Woman of the Year Award on Monday. Lundgren is a two-sport athlete for the LumberJills, playing in back-to-back seasons for Northland’s volleyball and women’s basketball teams.
The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors senior student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service, and leadership. To be eligible for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award, nominees must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2009-2010 competitive season and received her undergraduate degree prior to the conclusion of the summer 2010 term. Nominees must also have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.
Lundgren, a Crosby, Minn. native, competed as a senior during the 2009-10 academic year and graduated with a degree in psychology and business administration from Northland. In her four years as a women’s basketball student-athlete, Lundgren was a three-time UMAC First Team All-Conference award winner while leading her team to a league championship in 2009 and a berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2010. On the volleyball court, Lundgren earned first team all-conference honors in 2008 while the LumberJills earned a UMAC Tournament championship in 2008. A team captain in both sports, she is the first Northland College student-athlete to record 1,000 kills in volleyball and 1,000 points in basketball.
In the classroom, Lundgren received UMAC Academic All-Conference accolades in all three of the years that she was eligible to receive the award while being named to Northland’s Dean’s List in each of her four years at the Ashland, Wis. college. Having maintained a 3.80 GPA over her four year career, Lundgren received the Bendapudi Eswara Chandra Award for excellence in business learning in 2009. She was recently selected to represent the student body in speaking at Northland’s commencement ceremonies in May.
Throughout her time at Northland, Lundgren was also very active in the community. She volunteered at a local elementary school and also offered her time as a volunteer coach for youth sport clinics.
In August, the top 10 honorees per division will be announced for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. In September, the field of 30 semifinalists will be narrowed to three per division. The top 10 honorees and the nine finalists from Divisions I, II, and III will be honored and the 2010 NCAA Woman of the Year winner announced at a dinner in Indianapolis on October 17, 2010.