NEWPORT NEWS, Va.— Two stellar former student-athletes have been selected as the Atlantic 10 Conference nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Dayton’s Ashley Campbell and Melissa Ross of Richmond were announced Wednesday as the league’s two candidates for one of the NCAA’s most prestigious honors.
Both student-athletes completed their eligibility this past year and graduated from their respective universities in May. They were selected from a pool of eight outstanding institutional honorees, representing five A-10 sports and eight different A-10 institutions. Campbell, a women’s soccer player, and Ross, a swimmer, were chosen as the league’s nominees by the Atlantic 10’s 14 Senior Woman Administrators (SWAs) based on their athletic achievements, academic prowess, community involvement and leadership abilities. Both A-10 candidates have exceptional resumes in all four areas.
“We are proud to nominate Ashley and Melissa as the A-10’s Woman of the Year candidates.” stated Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade. “They have excelled in competition, flourished as academic leaders and been model citizens with a commitment to their community. I congratulate them both on their exemplary careers and contributions to the A-10 and their Institutions.”
The NCAA will select the top 30 (10 per division) in early September, and then will narrow the list to the top nine (three per division) in late September. The 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year will be chosen from those nine candidates and will be announced Sunday, Oct. 16, at the awards dinner in Indianapolis.
Dayton's all-time leading goal scorer, Campbell amassed several awards during her four years with the Flyers. She led the Flyers to a 2013 A-10 regular season title, and the 2014 A-10 Championship and NCAA Tournament berth. A two-time Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year and four-time All-Conference selection, she broke UD's women's soccer record for career goals with 63. She also was a two-time NSCAA Division I Women's All-Mid-Atlantic Region selection. Named one of the top 30 players for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award, she earned Academic All-Ohio for three consecutive seasons and was a three-time Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award winner. Campbell was a member of the U-20 Canadian Women's National Team that was a 2014 FIFA World Cup quarterfinalist, playing in all four matches with a start versus Finland.
Since 2012 she has participated in Christmas on Campus, and for two years she volunteered with Top Soccer, teaching and playing soccer with special needs children. Her community service endeavors also include helping with the annual "Kicks for Kids" event in 2013, teaching soccer to special needs children, and sponsoring, along with her teammates, a "Green Dot" match to provide awareness and prevention of sexual assault. Campbell and the Flyers walked in many Breast Cancer awareness events and participated in the Anti-Bullying Rally in Dayton, Ohio. She also helped out on campus, volunteering at the Flyer 5K fundraising race.
Ross was a part of four Atlantic 10 Championships as a member of the swimming and diving program, which has won 14 of the last 15 A-10 titles. In 2015, she won gold in the 200 fly. She has numerous academic accolades including Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society member, the 2015 Scholar Athlete of the Year for the School of Arts and Sciences, a University of Richmond Presidential Scholar, and a three-time USA Swimming Scholastic All-American. Most recently, Ross was the recipient of the Duke University School of Medicine Dean’s Scholarship.
In addition to her excellence in the pool and the classroom, Ross was active in the community. She volunteered at St. Mary’s Hospital, was involved in the Alpha Phi Omega community service fraternity, campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and Youth Life Foundation of Richmond. She also founded the annual Swim A Lap, Save a Life Swimathon, which has raised nearly $200,000 for local pediatric medical causes including the CHOP Oncology Center and Center for Autism, Doylestown Hospital, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.