Nicole Tan Advances to Second Phase of NCAA Woman of the Year Voting
CLAREMONT, Calif. - The NCAA officially announced the conference-level nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award today, and CMS senior women's tennis player Nicole Tan is one of 161 student-athletes across the country who remain in the running for the prestigious national honor.
The NCAA Woman of the Year, which honors student-athletes who excel in academics, athletics, service and leadership, began its process began with 605 nominees from across the three NCAA divisions. Of that group, just over one quarter advanced to the second phase, with Tan one of only 63 to make it from the NCAA Division III level (along with 59 from Division I and 39 from Division II). In September, the NCAA will choose its Top 30 (10 from each division), before nine finalists are chosen and the winner is revealed on November 1.
Tan is a five-time ITA All-American for the CMS women's tennis team (three times in doubles, and twice in singles), and played No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles on the Athenas' 2018 national championship team. She began her career by earning the ITA National Rookie of the Year honor as a first-year in 2017, while also reaching the finals of the NCAA Division III Doubles Championship before ending as the runner-up. She once again was the runner-up in the doubles championship as a junior in 2019, when she and Sarah Bahsoun fell to teammates Caroline Cox and Catherine Allen in an all-CMS final.
During her career, CMS finished each reason ranked No. 3, No. 1, No. 2 and No. 1 in the country, which represents the four highest finishes in program history. She helped the Athenas to a dual match record of 99-5, while compiling a personal record of 137-43 (54-21 in singles, and 83-22 in doubles). She finished the 2017 season ranked No. 12 in the country in singles, and ended 2017 and 2019 ranked No. 2 nationally in doubles. This year, CMS was 14-0 and No. 1 in the nation when spring sports were suspended in March, after winning the program's first ITA Indoor Championship over Emory on March 1.
In the classroom, Tan graduated with a 3.87 GPA in neuroscience from Claremont McKenna and was selected to the Phi Beta Kappa honors society. She was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, earning third-team honors as a junior and first-team honors as a senior, becoming only the sixth first-team Academic All-American in CMS history. Tan will be attending Duke University-National University of Singapore medical school in the fall.
Tan also impacted the community on campus and beyond during her career. She volunteered every week at a local hospice facility near Claremont for the last two years, and volunteered at a similar facility in Singapore every week during the summer months. In addition, she served as a mentor with the Asian Pacific American Mentoring program (APAM), a CMC organization that provides support for first year and transfer students who identify as APIDA (Asian Pacific Islander Desi American). Since graduation, she has worked on the front lines in Singapore in the COVID-19 relief effort prior to beginning her medical school career.
The Woman of the Year Selection Committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will now choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division — from the conference-level nominees. From there, the selection committee will narrow the pool to three finalists from each division. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2020 Woman of the Year from the nine finalists.