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Sept. 3, 1999
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Former University of Virginia rower Charlotte Quesada(South Freeport, Maine) is one of 51 state-level winners (including theDistrict of Columbia) for the 1999 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.Quesada is the winner from Virginia.
The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors outstanding femalestudent-athletes from NCAA institutions who have excelled in thecollegiate environment beyond their athletics pursuits with academic achievementsand community involvement. A committee composed of representatives frommember schools selected the state winners. Alfreeda Goff, associatecommissioner for the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, chairs the selectioncommittee. The 51 state winners were chosen from more than 300 nominations.
Quesada graduated with distinction from Virginia in May of 1999.She was an Echols Scholar who pursued an interdisciplinary studiesprogram in Spanish, Environmental Studies and Latin American Relations. Quesadareceived the Jettie Hill Award as the Virginia women’s athlete with thehighest four-year academic average and was a four-time member of theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Honor Roll. She was selected to the GTEUniversity Division Academic All-District III Spring At-Large First Teamin1999.
Quesada was a member of Virginia’s second varsity eight that wonthe NCAA Championship in that competition in both 1998 and 1999. TheVirginia rowing team tied Brown for the most points (56) in the teamcompetition at the 1999 NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships, but finishedsecond as determined by the NCAA tiebreaker of highest finish in thefirst varsity eight.
Quesada served as a mentor/tutor at Charlottesville elementaryschools and high school during her UVa career, and was a Student AthleteMentor (SAM) working with peers in substance abuse prevention. Shereceived the 1999 SAM of the Year Award for her work with that programand received the Ernest Ern Award for outstanding contributions to studentlife at the University of Virginia. She also received an ACC Top Six Awardfor service to the UVa and Charlottesville communities. Quesada is a memberof the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society.
Ten finalists for the 1999 NCAA Woman of the Year Award will beannounced later this month. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athleticswill select the NCAA Woman of the Year from among the finalists. Thenational winner will be announced at the 1999 NCAA Woman of the Year AwardsDinner on October 24 in Indianapolis, Ind.
Peggy Boutilier of the University of Virginia received the 1998NCAA Woman of the Year Award.