Peden, Compagner nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Carson-Newman women’s swimmers Rachel Peden (Boiling Springs, S.C.) and Manon Compagner (Balkburg, Netherlands) have both been nominated by Carson-Newman for the NCAA’s Woman of the Year Award.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Carson-Newman women's swimmers Rachel Peden (Boiling Springs, S.C.) and Manon Compagner (Balkburg, Netherlands) have both been nominated by Carson-Newman for the NCAA's Woman of the Year Award.
A record-breaking 619 female student-athletes were nominated by NCAA member schools for consideration of the 2023 Woman of the Year award.
Since 1991, The NCAA Woman of the Year program has recognized graduating female student-athletes for excellence in academics, athletics, community service, and leadership throughout their college careers.
Within the nomination pool, 264 nominees competed in Division I, 128 in Division II, and 227 in Division III.
The average GPA of the nominee pool is 3.76.
Next steps in the selection process:
- Conference offices can recognize two nominees if at least one is a woman of color or an international student-athlete. All nominees who compete in a sport not sponsored by their school's primary conference, as well as associate conference nominees and independent nominees, will be placed in a separate pool to be considered by a selection committee.
- The Woman of the Year Selection Committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division — from the conference-level nominees. The Top 30 honorees will be announced in October.
- The selection committee will then determine the top three honorees in each division from the Top 30, and the nine finalists will be announced in November.
- From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will choose the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year. The honorees will be celebrated at the Woman of the Year Award Ceremony at the NCAA Convention in Phoenix in January.
In 2016, Carson-Newman softball All-American Elayna Siebert was recognized among the final nine for that year's NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Peden laid claim to the South Atlantic Conference's President's Award earlier this summer.
The highest individual honor presented annually by the South Atlantic Conference, the President's Award is voted on by the league's Faculty Athletic Representatives and to be eligible, student-athletes must exemplify excellence in athletics, academics and community service. Further, to be nominated for this prestigious award, the individual must have been honored as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year during the year in one of the league's 20 sponsored sports.
Peden is the first winner from Carson-Newman for the award since C-N and SAC Hall of Famer Marci Mitchell (now Whiteside) won in back-to-back years in 2001-02 and 2002-03. Whiteside and Peden are the only three Eagles to have brought home the President's Award in the league's history.
Peden wrapped up her academic career in May, graduating with a 3.95 GPA and a degree in psychology. She was voted SAC Women's Swimming Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Friday, Mar. 24.
Academically, Peden is a member of the Alpha Chi National Honor Society which honors the top 10% of all juniors, seniors, and graduate students on a given campus. Peden's name has shown up on the Dean's List for four straight years, and she has received either Platinum or Gold Scholar recognition each year during her time at Carson-Newman. Gold and Platinum Scholar honors are part of the Eagle Scholars Program that highlights academic achievement among student athletes at Carson-Newman.
This year, Peden was honored as part of the CSC Academic All-District team and was laureled with Third Team Academic All-America honors.
Peden has also proven to be successful on the athletic front. She is a three-time school record holder. Peden won the Nancy Claire Smith Award her freshman year at Carson-Newman which is awarded to one swimmer at the end of each season. Peden received the Eagle Award her sophomore year and was named team MVP after her junior season.
Peden is a two-time All-American and has earned Honorable Mention All-American honors at this year's NCAA DII Swimming and Diving Championships. She is a 2023 SAC Division II Champion in the 400-yard IM and SAC runner up in three separate events.
Earlier this year, Peden was named the South Atlantic Conference Varsity Gems Women's Swimmer of the Week for her performance during the eighth week of the 2022-23 swim season. The Eagles competed against Emory & Henry where Peden took gold in the women's 1000-yard freestyle event with a time of 10:59.31. Peden was the only swimmer who completed the race in under 11 minutes, and she finished 14 seconds ahead of her second-place competition.
Peden concluded her senior season at the NCAA Division II Championships that began Wednesday, Mar. 8. Peden was selected for four separate events. Her 500-yard freestyle (4:54.54), 400-yard individual medley (4:22.61), 1,650-yard freestyle (17:06.28), and 1,000-yard freestyle (10:10.32) each afforded her a spot to compete in the national meet.
During nationals, Peden placed ninth in the women's 1,650-yard freestyle finals with a time of 16:58.37, a season best performance in the event. Her efforts earned her Honorable Mention All-American honors at the meet.
At the South Atlantic Conference Championships, Peden won gold in the women's 400-yard IM with a qualifying mark in 4:22.61, and she secured three silver medals throughout the meet. Her 500-yard freestyle (4:57.92), 1,000-yard freestyle (10:10.32), and 1,650-yard freestyle (17:08.05) each allowed her a spot on the podium.
Peden has eight first place finishes on the season. She swam against high levels of competition throughout her senior year and secured multiple spots on the podium. Peden placed second in the 500-yard freestyle (5:06.46) during the Eagles' trip to Georgia Tech and third in the 400-yard IM (4:36.21) against the University of Tennessee.
Meanwhile, Compagner was voted the SAC Swimmer of the Year for her performance during the 2022-2023 season.
During the NCAA DII Swimming and Diving Championships, Compagner became the first woman in the history of Carson-Newman's athletic department to lay claim to a national championship with a gold medal performance in the 100-yard butterfly in 52.45 seconds.
Compagner also won gold in the women's 100-yard freestyle event in a near-record 48.97 to secure her second national championship of the meet. She broke her own school record for the event twice in the span of a few hours. She now holds the top-three times for Carson-Newman women's swim in the 100-yard freestyle (49.47, 49.48, 48.47).
Compagner left the national championships with five All-American performances. She placed fifth in the women's 50-yard freestyle, earning the title of All-American during the first day of national competition. Compagner swam the preliminary event in 22.87 before besting herself in the finals in 22.81.
Compagner also swam in the 400-yard medley relay with Kyla Blakemore, Breanna Belcher, and Kennadi King. The quartet earned a bronze medal with a finals time of 3:41.57. Compagner raced again with King, Natalia Amano, and Lily Parr in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Eagles placed fifth in 3:22.40. Their efforts made a mark on the history books as the quartet set a new program record for Carson-Newman.
Carson-Newman swim officially closed the doors to the 2022-2023 swimming season at the conclusion of national championships. The women's team finished seventh in the nation.
Prior to nationals, Compagner competed with the Eagles at the South Atlantic Conference Championships.
During the first day of the championships, Compagner grabbed a win with a 22.78-second 50-yard freestyle time. Compagner secured an NCAA "A" Cut in the race while also setting and securing the meet record in the event. Compagner took home two first-place finishes from day two of the SAC Swimming Championships. Compagner placed first in the women's 200-yard freestyle with a finals time of 1:49.11, a new personal best. Compagner also finished first in the women's 100-yard butterfly with a time of 52.92 securing an NCAA "A" Cut. Her efforts afforded her another personal best in the event at the time.
Compagner left the conference championships with three gold medals, contributing to the women's second-place finish.
Compagner ended her senior season with 11 first-place individual finishes. The Eagle also found success against DI competition throughout the season. Compagner placed second in the 100-yard butterfly (58.32), third in the 200-yard butterfly (1:54.51), and fourth in the 50-yard freestyle (24.49) during the Eagles' visit to Georgia Tech. She placed fourth in the 100-yard freestyle (52.10) and fifth in the 100-yard butterfly (56.90) against the University of Tennessee.
