INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – Coker College senior women's soccer player Lizz Morris is one of 480 female student-athletes who are nominated for the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year award. The total number of nominees is the most in the 25-year history of the NCAA Woman of the Year program.
The Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academics, athletics, service and leadership. Of the nominees, 207 competed in Division I, 93 competed in Division II and 180 competed in Division III athletics.
Morris, a two-time first-team All-SAC selection, was the anchor for the Cobra defense in the goal all year. She compiled 182 saves on the season, which ranked first in the SAC and NCAA Division II, and registered four shutouts. Morris' four shutouts were good for sixth in the conference.
Morris' career totals of 543 saves and 11 shutouts rank her second and third, respectively, in Coker women's soccer history all-time.
Off the field, Morris also had an outstanding academic career. She was a member of the Coker Dean's List, a Coker World Scholar and a co-researcher in the Coker biology department. She was a two-time SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll selection and a National Soccer Coaches Association of American (NSCAA) Scholar All-Region selection.
Morris also served as a member of the Coker Enactus executive council and was an Enactus project manager where she helped create and run an Aquaponics system, which helped low income families grow a sustainable food source.
A member of the United Methodist Volunteers in Missions, Morris traveled to Russia twice during her time at Coker to help improve the lives of orphan children.
A native of Stillwater, N.Y., Morris graduated with a 3.71 GPA in May, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology with a pre-medical concentration and minors in history and chemistry. She is the daughter of Frederick and Karen Morris and Maria and Dave Goyer.
The NCAA encourages member schools to honor its top graduating female student-athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award. Following the nomination process, conferences assess each nominee's eligibility and select up to two conference nominees. All conference nominees are forwarded to the Woman of the Year selection committee, which chooses the top 30 honorees - 10 from each division.
From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three nominees from each division and announces the top nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses from among those nine to determine the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year. The 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced (and the Top 30 honorees celebrated) at the annual award ceremony Oct. 18 in Indianapolis.