ROCK HILL, S.C. – Former Carson-Newman women's soccer striker Jules Herrity (Donegal, Ireland) has been named International South Atlantic Conference Woman of the Year, the league office announced Tuesday morning.
Herrity was honored alongside Wingate women's soccer's Kaitlyn Brunworth.
Herrity is the second straight Eagle to be recognized as the South Atlantic Conference's Woman of the Year. Elayna Siebert, a former C-N softball utility player, won the award last year and advanced to the final nine of the NCAA's Woman of the Year award – the furthest any Eagle has ever advanced.
She joins women's swimming's Nancy Claire Smith (Franklin, Tenn.) as Carson-Newman's nominees for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year.
Herrity was the 2015 South Atlantic Conference Women's Soccer Player of the Year and an NSCAA All-American. As a junior, she helped guide Carson-Newman to one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA history. The Eagles went from three wins to 19 wins, SAC Regular Season and Tournament Titles. Additionally the Eagles were the top seed in the Southeast Region tournament and made the region championship game.
As a junior, Herrity scored the ninth-most goals in a season in school history with 16. She led the SAC with 93 shots and ranked second in goals and points with 36.
She followed up her junior campaign by helping C-N to back-to-back SAC tournament and regular season trophies and another spot in the Southeast Region tournament. She was a member of starting XI for all 22 games en route to first team All-SAC honors. .She finished the season with 18 goals and seven assists. Her goal total tied her for tenth in the country and was the second-most in the SAC.
Herrity totaled the SAC's sixth-most assists and ended the season with 43 points, 12th in the country and second in the SAC. The Donegal, Ireland-native scored a hat trick against Francis Marion on Sept. 10th, she also turned in five two-goal performances, turning the trick against Lees-McRae, Newberry, Mars Hill, Queens (N.C.) and Coker.
Herrity finished her career with 34 goals, a total that places her fifth in program history. She also racked up 79 career points, which ties her with Liz Jallo for the fourth most in Carson-Newman history.
At the end of her senior season, Herrity earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors to cap a successful classroom career. The business administration graduated made the Dean's List all four semesters she was at Carson-Newman. She was also a two-time Eagle Scholar and a two-year member of the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll.
Herrity also made an effort to help others. The striker helped out with Operation INASMUCH, Carson-Newman's annual day of service. She also has dedicated her free time to volunteering as a coach for area soccer camps and clinics.
A record 543 female college athletes have been nominated by NCAA member schools for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year award.
Established in 1991 and now in its 27th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
The school nominees represent all three NCAA divisions, with 229 from Division I, 117 from Division II and 197 from Division III. The nominees competed in 21 different women's sports, and 122 were multisport athletes during their time in college.
The NCAA encourages member schools to honor their top graduating female student-athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award.
Next, conferences will select up to two conference nominees each from the pool of school nominees. The Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will then choose the top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.
From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three honorees from each division and announces the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine.
The top 30 honorees will be recognized and the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 22 in Indianapolis.
