With plenty of athletic and academic achievements to her name, Caroline Ordian '18 of the University of Redlands women's golf program embodies the ideals of the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award. Earlier this summer, her application was submitted for consideration among the record-breaking, 581 nominees from across all NCAA divisions.
Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college student-athletes who have completed their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service, and leadership throughout their careers. According to the NCAA, more than 200,000 women competed in college sports this year.
The 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year nominees include all NCAA divisions, with 251 from Division I, 131 from Division II, and 199 from Division III.
Ordian completed her illustrious career at Redlands as the most decorated women's golfer in Bulldog history. She sits atop the program records for the lowest single round at 64 and the lowest two-round total at 136. After being named the NCAA Freshman Player of the Year, she went on to become the 2016 Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Division III Player of the Year while winning the 2016 NCAA Individual Championship.
She repeated as an All-American and All-West Region golfer each year of her career and competed at the national tournament all four seasons.
At the conference level, she was named the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Athlete of the Year three times and represented the Bulldogs on the All-SCIAC First Team every year of her career. In her inaugural season, she also became the SCIAC's Newcomer of the Year.
Along with Ordian's individual success, the Bulldog women's golf team captured a pair of conference titles and posted two top-eight finishes at the NCAA Division III Championships since she joined the team.
Off the golf course, Ordian also excelled in the classroom as a Business Administration major. A four-time Redlands Scholar-Athlete, Ordian landed on the Dean's List every semester of her career. In addition, she is a two-time College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American and All-District honoree, a four-time SCIAC All-Academic Team selection, and a four-time WGCA All-America Scholar.
Upon conclusion of the 2017-18 academic year, Ordian was tabbed the University of Redlands Frank Serrao Senior Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Ordian is joined by six other SCIAC hopefuls, two of which will be sent forward to be considered at the national level. The NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee will then choose the top 30 honorees, including 10 from each division. From the top 30, the selection committee will determine the top three honorees from each division and will announce the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will make the final decision from those nine.
The top 30 honorees will be recognized and the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the annual award ceremony on October 28 in Indianapolis.
To review the full list of nominees and the original release, please click here.