July 7, 2008

HIAWATHA, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) has selected recent Wartburg College graduate Ashley Rogers (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert) as its nominee for the 2008 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors senior student-athletes for their cumulative collegiate achievements in service, leadership, athletics and academics.

Rogers, who boasts a 3.60 cumulative grade point average majoring in business administration, was four-time letterwinner and a co-captain for the Knights in both volleyball and softball. A Wartburg College Regents Scholar, she was a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII Second Team selection for volleyball and an NFCA Scholar-Athlete in 2007 as well as a three-time member of the Iowa Conference All-Academic Team.

In volleyball, she earned First Team All-Iowa Conference honors four times and was named the league's Most Valuable Player as a senior. The holder of numerous Wartburg school records, Rogers was a three-time All-Central Region selection, the Central Region Freshman of the Year in 2004, and an AVCA First Team All-American in 2007. She was also an Honorable Mention All-America selection in 2005 and 2006. Wartburg was IIAC runner-up three times in Rogers' four seasons.

On the diamond, Rogers twice captured National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Midwest Region honors, including First Team laurels in 2008. She was a three-time All-Conference selection, earning First Team honors as a senior. Rogers was also a member of two Iowa Conference championship (2006, 2008) and three NCAA Tournament (2006-08) teams.

Rogers was involved in many campus activities and organizations, including the Wartburg College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Habitat for Humanity, and Project Reach. She was also named to Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges and was awarded the Elmer Hertel Athletic Award in 2008 as Wartburg's top female two-sport athlete and Lynes Award for both volleyball and softball as the outstanding senior on each team.

In order to be eligible for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award, nominees must have:
- Earned a varsity letter in a NCAA-sponsored sport and competed during the 2007-08 academic year;
- Completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2008 spring season or received her
undergraduate degree prior to the conclusion of the spring 2008 term;
- A minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.500 (4.000 scale).

Rogers' nomination has been forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee, which will select the top 10 winners in each of the three divisions of the NCAA. From among those 30 honorees, the selection committee will determine the top three in each division. Finally, the members of the Committee on Women’s Athletics will vote from among the top nine to determine the 2008 NCAA Woman of the Year. The top 10 honorees and the nine finalists from Divisions I, II and III will be honored and the 2008 NCAA Woman of the Year winner announced at a dinner in Indianapolis October 19, 2008.

Additional individuals from the IIAC nominated for this year’s NCAA Woman of the Year award included: Buena Vista University basketball player Jenni Schweitzberger (Kingsley, Iowa/Kingsley-Pierson), Central College volleyball player Terri Berger (Sioux City, Iowa/Bishop Heelan), Loras College track and field athlete Ellen Thys (Victor, Iowa/HLV), and Simpson College basketball player Katelyn Whiton (Panora, Iowa/Perry).

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