NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Stefani Deschner (Notre Dame ‘21) has been named one of nine finalists for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, the NCAA announced on Thursday (Oct. 21).
“I am absolutely thrilled to learn that Stefani has been chosen as one of the nine finalists for NCAA Woman of the Year,” said Irish head coach Gia Kvaratskhelia. “It is a phenomenal honor for both her and our program, and a testament to the extraordinary young woman she is. I am so proud of her and her fellow finalists and know that all of them are examples of the excellence that young people are bringing to our communities.”
The NCAA Woman of the Year is a national award honoring academic achievement, athletics excellence, community service and leadership. It is one of the highest awards given by the NCAA. The Woman of the Year award is unique in its holistic recognition of female student-athletes as it honors excellence in academics, stellar athletic performances and meaningful contributions to campuses and communities through leadership and service.
Finalists were selected from the Top 30 Woman of the Year honorees, made up of 10 women from each division. The Top 30 represented 12 sports, including one NCAA emerging sport for women. In 2021, schools nominated 535 graduating female student-athletes for this prestigious award.
At 7:30 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday, Nov. 9, the finalists and Top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced during a virtual awards ceremony. The show will be streamed on the NCAA Twitter account and ncaa.org/woty.
Deschner captured the 2021 NCAA Women’s Foil National Championship after an undefeated regular season to help Notre Dame capture its 11th NCAA Fencing National Championship in program history.
With the win, she claimed her first career individual championship and was the first women’s foil champion from Notre Dame since Olympic gold medalist Lee Kiefer back in 2017.
Deschner, the 2020 and 2021 ACC Fencing Scholar-Athlete of the Year, closed her Irish career with a 109-30 record and as a junior in 2020 was named the ACC’s Women’s Foil Fencer of the Year after capturing the ACC crown.
The Versailles, Kentucky, native also served as the co-executive chair of the ACC Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) mental health board, and organized additional mental health town halls, developed education modules, and created a mental health station to help direct student athletes to proper mental health professionals.
During her time in South Bend, Deschner actively served the Notre Dame community, particularly via the Fighting Irish Fight for Life program, an initiative that pairs severely ill children with the university’s sports teams.
Having recently earned her a undergraduate degree in pre-professional studies and theology, Deschner was a 2021 ACC Postgraduate Scholarship recipient, a three-time All-ACC Fencing Academic Team honoree and made the Dean’s List seven times at Notre Dame.
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