WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Former West Chester University women's rugby All-American,
Juah Toe (York, Pa./Central York), was named a semifinalist when the Woman of the Year Selection Committee announced the Top 30 honorees for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Selected from a record 605 school nominees — a group that was then narrowed to 161 nominees by conference offices — the Top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions. All have demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. The honorees competed in 14 sports and studied a broad range of academic majors, including nursing, mechanical engineering, biochemistry, criminal justice, kinesiology, accounting and advertising.
"The 30 honorees selected this year excelled in the classroom and in competition while also remaining committed to serving their peers and communities," said Suzette McQueen, chair of the Woman of the Year Selection Committee and senior associate commissioner for external relations and strategic marketing/senior woman administrator at the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. "These outstanding women represent the thousands of diverse and talented women competing in college sports each year, and we're proud to recognize their achievements on and off the field."
Toe's selection marks the second consecutive year in which West Chester University has landed a representative in the Top 30 for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Last year, field hockey standout Kaitlin Hatch became the first Golden Rams student-athlete to reach the Top 30.
Toe, the lone women's rugby nominee among the 160, becomes the third West Chester University nominee in the last four years. A year ago, former field hockey star, Kaitlin Hatch, made the Top 30 semifinalists list and was invited to the banquet that recognized the NCAA Woman of the Year. She is the only former Golden Rams student-athlete to advance that far in the process.
Toe helped West Chester to an undefeated 11-0 fall campaign during the Rugby 15's season. The Golden Rams capped off their memorable moment with a national championship in the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) Tier II.
Her community service and volunteer engagements read like a veritable who's who list of accomplishments throughout her college career. Everything from trips to South Africa, to secretary of the Abbe Society, to Vice-President of Omicron Delta Kappa, to involvement in the school's Honors College and a member of the selection committee for the West Chester University 1871 Award kept her daily scheduled packed from sunup to sundown.
The selection committee will announce the nine finalists, including three women from each NCAA division, in mid-October. From those finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year. The Top 30 will be celebrated, and the Woman of the Year will be named this fall.
