Sydney Lee helped CMS to a 2022 national championship
Sydney Lee helped CMS to a 2022 national championship

Sydney Lee Nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year Award

CLAREMONT, Calif. - An All-American on the NCAA Division III Champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's tennis team, Sydney Lee was announced today as one of 577 nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award recognizes female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers.

Lee was part of an Athena team that finished the year with a 27-3 record while earning the second national title in program history, defeating top-ranked Chicago 5-1 in the national finals. She earned All-America honors in singles with a 19-5 final record, as well as a 22-9 mark in doubles. 

During her four-year career, Lee helped CMS to a second-place finish in 2019, and a No. 1 final ranking in 2020 before the season was cut short, in addition to this year's national title. Her career record was 101-31 (56-14 in singles and 45-17 in doubles), while the CMS record during her tenure was an impressive 68-5.

Lee graduated from Claremont McKenna with a dual major in media studies and psychology. Outside of the classroom, she was part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and worked extensively with its mental health sub-committee, setting up various platforms to communicate the availability of mental health resources to student-athletes.  

As 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the NCAA Woman of the Year program is an important opportunity to honor and reflect on the impact of women on intercollegiate sports. This year's nominees represent all three NCAA divisions, including 248 from Division I, 127 from Division II and 202 from Division III. Of the 577 nominations, 23 sports are represented, with 125 student-athletes competing in multiple sports.

Each conference office will select two nominees to advance to the Woman of the Year Selection Committee, which will select 30 semifinalists (10 from each division). The Woman of the Year will be announced in January, 2023 at the NCAA Convention in San Antonio.