2021 NCAA Woman of the Year School Nominees

INDIANAPOLIS -- Following their graduation from Academy of Art University this past year, two highly decorated Urban Knights have been nominated for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year award. This year, Mariacristina Andrisani of women's tennis and Camille Jouanno of women's track & field serve as ART U's dual nominees for one of the most prestigious annual honors the NCAA has to offer.

Now in its 31st installment, the Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academics, athletics, service, and leadership. Previous Academy of Art nominees include softball student-athletes Brenna Youngquist (2019), Haily MacDonald (2016) and Elyse Cordova (2015), women's golfers Sterling Hawkins (2019), Andrea Nieto (a top finalist in 2014), and Crystal Superal (2013), women's basketball/track & field standout Jasmin Guinn (2017), and women's tennis student-athletes Alma Thell-Lenntorp & Klara Thell-Lenntorp (2020), Michelle Dandik Zaale (2017), Nina Gajdosikova (2016), and Jenny Johansson (2015). 

Andrisani, who completed her collegiate career in 2020 with a 3.40 cumulative GPA in the School of Interior Architecture & Design, developed into the program's quintessential leader after joining Academy of Art as a freshman in 2017. She contributed seven singles wins and four doubles victories in a 2017 campaign that saw the Urban Knights finish 17-5 overall, reaching NCAA West Regionals in the process. That postseason run was bettered in 2018 when Andrisani added another seven singles wins and 11 in doubles while ART U finished as runners-up to the PacWest Championship, defeated Azusa at NCAA West Regionals, and made the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals for its best finish to date.

The native of Matera, Italy then earned All-PacWest Third Team honors in both singles and doubles in 2019, a campaign that once again culminated in a PacWest title runner-up result and the Urban Knights' third straight trip to NCAA West Regionals. That season, Andrisani was 11-3 in singles, winning her last five matches of the year, and got her first chance to team up with fellow Italian Sofia Ragona for a 13-4 doubles effort. Though her final season on the court with ART U ended abruptly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrisani had embraced her role as a leader being the freshman-heavy team's lone senior. Prior to the stoppage, she would earn her first PacWest Player of the Week award and closed her athletic career with a trio of 2020 Intercollegiate Tennis Association West Region honors including the West Region Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award, Most Improved Senior Award, and Senior Player of the Year. She was also selected as the Team MVP at that year's ARTYs Awards and finished as one of nine Urban Knights to achieve 30 or more wins in both singles and doubles in her career. In addition to securing four Academic All-PacWest honors and appearing in the 2019 Spring Show, Andrisani turned in 51 community service hours during her collegiate career.

"Being put up for NCAA Woman of the Year was something totally unexpected, which made this nomination even more special, I'm grateful," Andrisani said. "The greatest feeling I take away from these years is being part of a really big family. I'm really happy I had a chance to positively impact my teammates' lives and have them impact mine, creating lifetime bonds. Being a tennis coach now, I feel I can achieve anything I set my mind to. Women have no limits and nobody should think any different."

Jouanno, who wrapped up her stint as a graduate student with a 3.52 cumulative GPA in the School of Communications & Media Technologies, had her 2019 National Championship in the indoor triple jump highlight her career at Academy of Art. After earning USTFCCCA All-Region honors in both the indoor long jump and triple jumps that year, Jouanno's debut campaign culminated with her hoisting the national title while also breaking the program's triple jump record with a 42-5.25 (12.93m) mark. The Bordeaux, France native would add another All-American triple jump honor in the 2019 outdoor season, finishing fifth at Outdoor Nationals after emerging as the PacWest Champion in the event, securing her third All-Region selection, and being named PacWest Field Athlete of the Week on two occasions (Mar. 20, 2019, Apr. 3, 2019). She was also selected as the Team MVP at that year's ARTYs Awards.

The 2020 season, shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, saw Jouanno secure two more All-Region honors in the indoor long jump and triple jump, but there was no opportunity to defend her title as Indoor Nationals and virtually the entire subsequent outdoor season were canceled. Returning to action for the Urban Knights' 2021 outdoor campaign, Jouanno collected her sixth career All-Region award after a season-best triple jump came at the APU Last Chance Twilight punched her ticket to Outdoor Nationals once again. She finished her career among the top five in both the indoor and outdoor versions of the long jump and triple jump, leading in the indoor triple as mentioned earlier. In addition to securing two Academic All-PacWest honors, being an USTFCCCA All-Academic individual in 2020, earning the COM department's Best Graduate On-Camera and Best Graduate Editor in back-to-back years (2020, 2021), and appearing in the 2021 Spring Show, Jouanno was responsible for 24 community service hours during her collegiate career.

"Being a student-athlete pushed to be a better version of myself every day," Jouanno said. "As an athlete, I faced and overcame challenges on the track and those obstacles helped me overcome the academic and personal challenges as well. Being a competitive athlete really pushed me to do my best and succeed. I'm proud of the woman I've become and will be forever grateful for the experience and the people I met in this journey."

The NCAA Woman of the Year nominations are now under review by each school's conference office and two individuals will be submitted as the conference nominees to the NCAA. A selection committee then chooses the Top 30 nominees (10 from each division) before narrowing it down to three finalists from each division. The Committee on Women's Athletics selects the winner from the top nine. The 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced, and the top 30 honorees celebrated, this fall.