Jocelyn Willoughby and Zoe Morse both excelled as athletes at the University of Virginia.
In basketball, Willoughby was the Atlantic Coast Conference’s scoring leader. In soccer, Morse was a defensive star who helped lead the Hoos to a No. 1 ranking for much of this past season.
But playing sports was merely one facet of their UVA experiences.
Both earned high marks in the classroom. Both immersed themselves in extracurricular activities and student life. Both, in essence, personified the term “student-athlete.”
It was with this in mind that UVA’s Department of Athletics announced Tuesday it had nominated the pair for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Rooted in Title IX, the NCAA Woman of the Year Award was established in 1991 to recognize graduating female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
The nominees represent all three NCAA divisions, including 259 nominees from Division I, 126 from Division II and 220 from Division III. Nominees competed in 24 sports, with multisport student-athletes accounting for 128 of the nominees.
During her time at UVA, Willoughby, an East Orange, New Jersey native, often drew parallels with UVA-turned-NBA star Malcolm Brogdon.
