NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Elmhurst University’s Nora Simon is the 2026 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Women’s Soccer Elite 26 Award recipient, the conference announced Saturday prior to the start of the final round of the 2026 CCIW Women’s Soccer Championship hosted by North Central College.
Simon earned the prestigious academic honor after maintaining a perfect 4.00 grade-point average, the highest among competing members of the final two teams in the tournament. Simon has played a key role in the Bluejays' success this season, grabbing the CCIW Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year Award and First Team All-CCIW honors in the process. The sophomore Sports Management and Business Administration major from Anchorage, Alaska, also helped lead Elmhurst to winning the 2026 CCIW Women’s Soccer Championship.
The CCIW's Elite 26 Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA competing at the championship of their respective sport. All GPAs are based on a straight-grading scale to ensure consistency among nominees. All ties are broken by the total number of credit hours completed through the most recently concluded semester.
To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be sophomores or above and have participated in their sport at their institution for at least two years. They must also be active members of their teams and travel to and compete at the CCIW championship event or, for bracketed tournaments, be on one of the final two teams while also earning All-CCIW honors.
Game One | Shop Official CCIW Women’s Soccer Championship Gear
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Championship Central provides direct access to each CCIW sport's championship page, where sport-specific championship information can be found. Information will be updated throughout the year and is subject to change. Visit the Women’s Soccer championship page for the most up-to-date event information.
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).