Wingate’s Rebecca Brezovec Named One Of 30 Finalists For NCAA Woman Of The Year

Indianapolis, Ind.----Wingate University volleyball superstar Rebecca Brezovec (class of 2007, Durham, N.C.) is one of the top 30 contenders for the 2007 NCAA Woman of the Year award. The WOTY nominees represent all three divisions. These student-athletes have excelled in academics, athletics and community service. Nine finalists (three from each NCAA division) will be determined in September.

The NCAA will salute the achievements and the accomplishments of the Top 30 contenders and the nine finalists at the NCAA Woman of the Year award dinner to be held Saturday, October 27, at the Murat Center (Egyptian Ballroom) in Indianapolis.

"Rebecca has won several awards that have brought positive exposure to Wingate University and our volleyball program," Bulldog head volleyball coach Shelton Collier said. "This award is truly special. It is such an honor for Rebecca, as a Wingate volleyball player, to be in the company of so many other elite student-athletes at such a prestigious event."

Rebecca Brezovec was named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® of the Year by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) in the fall of 2006. In addition, she earned the SAC Presidents Award during the spring, earning the conference's highest award for the second year in a row. Brezovec also received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship following her senior season.

Brezovec was the 2006 South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year. She is a two-time All-SAC middle blocker. Brezovec won the SAC Scholar-Athlete Award for volleyball for the second time in 2006. The SAC Scholar-Athlete Award is a prestigious honor given to only one student-athlete in each of the league's 14 sports.

Brezovec and her Wingate senior teammates qualified for the NCAA Division II play-offs three times during their four-year careers. Brezovec was the only representative from the South Atlantic Conference to earn DAKTRONICS Volleyball All-South Region laurels in 2006. She was named second team All-South Region as a senior and a junior.

Brezovec was a headliner on the 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® volleyball first team (College Division), as selected by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America). Brezovec earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® volleyball first team honors for the second year in a row in 2006.

Brezovec was voted Academic All-America® of the Year in volleyball for the College Division following the 2006 season. Only one student-athlete is selected Academic All-America® of the Year in each sport. She is the second Wingate student-athlete to earn Academic All-America® of the Year honors. Bulldog women's tennis standout Jenna Calomeris was the Academic All-America® of the Year for the At-Large program in 2002.

At Wingate University's 2007 athletic awards ceremony, Brezovec received two major awards. She shared the Joyce Gragg Pipes Award for Female Athlete of the Year with basketball standout Tanetra Barrett (Marshville, N.C.). In addition, Brezovec and soccer defender Heather Schlick (Prior Lake, Minn.) earned the C.B. and Beadie Haskins Scholarship Award, presented to the Wingate University senior student-athlete with the highest grade point average.

During the University's 2007 Commencement Exercises on Saturday, May 12, Brezovec garnered two awards. She was presented the C. C. Burris Award, given annually to the graduating senior woman who represents the ideals of scholarship, leadership and service. In addition, Brezovec, Schlick and three classmates earned the H.K. Helms Award, presented annually to the graduating Wingate senior achieving the highest scholastic average. The Riverside High School product graduated summa cum laude with a 4.00 GPA as a Sociology major.

In addition, Brezovec earned an NCAA postgraduate scholarship this spring. The NCAA postgraduate scholarship is a one-time grant of $7,500 that is awarded for fall sports, winter sports and spring sports every year. In each of the three seasons there are 29 scholarships available for men and 29 scholarships available for women. The scholarships are one-time, non-renewable grants. Brezovec will be continuing her education at her alma mater as a graduate student.

Nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year award are selected based on service and leadership activities, academic achievement, athletics excellence and a personal statement describing benefits she has gained from her experience as a student-athlete.

To be eligible for this honor, the female student-athlete must have earned a varsity letter in an NCAA-sponsored sport and competed during the 2006-07 academic year. As well, each individual must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2007 spring season and must have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.50.

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution offering students active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, faith nurturing, career development, community service and study abroad.

Wingate offers more than 37 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers pre-professional programs and graduate degrees in business, education, physical education and sport administration.

In the spring of 2007, Wingate University awarded its first-ever doctor of pharmacy degrees. Bulldog student-athletes compete in 17 NCAA Division II sports.