Illinois wesleyan's spear named 2009 cciw woman of the year

Spear

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) has selected Nicole Spear, a member of the Illinois Wesleyan women's golf team, as its 2009 CCIW Woman of the Year.

Spear was chosen through a voting process conducted by the CCIW Senior Woman Administrators and Faculty Athletics Representatives. She was chosen among a group of four other nominees including Augustana's Keli Coleman (track & field), Wheaton's Brandi McNeil (track & field), North Central's Brianne Parra (basketball), and North Park's Amanda Wallden (soccer).

Spear, an accounting and economics major (3.88 GPA) from Naperville, Ill., and Naperville Central High School, will now represent the conference as a nominee for the 2009 NCAA Woman of the Year award and will be honored by the CCIW with a plaque to commemorate this recognition.

The NCAA Woman of the Year award honors senior female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.

Spear was part of four conference championship teams and was an NCAA participant in 2007, 2008 and 2009 including her team's fourth place finish in 2008. She finished 12th individually at the NCAA Division III Championship this past season.

She graduated Magna Cum Laude in May and was a member of the Dean's List every semester of her collegiate career. In addition, Spear was named an all-scholar athlete for four straight seasons by the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) and an academic all-conference member during that span.

Spear is also active in the Bloomington, Illinois community, particularly as a member of Illinois Wesleyan's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). She took part in the collection of canned goods, created a campus volunteer program and designed and sold new t-shirts for the Illinois Wesleyan student section. She is also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and volunteered with the Salvation Army as a holiday bell ringer.

Spear's nomination will be 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 2009 NCAA Woman of the Year. The top 10 honorees and the nine finalists from Divisions I, II and III will be honored and the 2009 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced at a dinner in Indianapolis October 18, 2009.