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University of Utah softball standout Hannah Flippen has been named a nominee for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
The NCAA's Woman of the Year criteria includes academics, athletics, service and leadership.
Flippen, a native of Bonita, Calif., is one of 544 nominees from across NCAA Div. I, II and III and the Utes' lone contender. She helped guide the softball team to one of its best seasons in program history which included the program's highest ranking to end a season (14th in the final NFCA poll), it's best record since 1997 (37-16) and an appearance in its second straight NCAA Super Regional.
The Pac-12 named Flippen, Utah's all-time leader in runs, hits and batting average, a winner of the Tom Hansen Conference Medal this week. The Tom Hansen Conference Medal annually goes to the top female athlete from each school based on leadership as well as academic and athletic performance.
Flippen wrapped up her senior season as the program's first three-time All-American as well as the first four-time All Pac-12 honoree. She also became the first Utah player named the Pac-12 Softball Player of the Year in consecutive seasons and the first person in the history of the conference to win Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.
She graduated with a 3.59 GPA in psychology, and received a postgraduate scholarship from the Pac-12 to pursue her masters degree at Utah in the fall.
Flippen, a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection and the program's first two-time Academic All-American, has also volunteered at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, local elementary schools and the Special Olympics.
— Lynn Worthy