FAIRBANKS - Cate Whiting, a recent graduate and former member of the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, was named the Alaska Nanooks selection for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. She was one of four nominated by Great Northwest Athletic Conference schools.

Full NCAA Release

A total of 577 graduating student-athletes were nominated, including 127 from other Division II member schools. 

"Cate is an extremely worthy nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year." Said Director of Athletics, Dr. Brock Anundson, "Her tremendous accomplishments on and off the court have proven she is without a doubt one of the nation's top candidates. On top of that, she is an incredible person and teammate. Cate is a model NCAA student-athlete and a true representative of the University of Alaska Fairbanks."

Whiting wrapped up her career as a Nanook in the fall of 2021. She first joined the 'Nooks in 2017 before playing the next five seasons in Fairbanks. She ended her career with 3,798 assists, second all-time for Nanooks volleyball, 1,177 digs, sixth all-time and an attack-percentage of .261, fifth all-time. Whiting finished her undergrad with a 3.9 GPA before posting a 4.0 in her first semester of Grad School. She was a 3x team captain, 3x GNAC First-Team selection and according to volleyball head coach, Brian Scott, Whiting has exemplified a model student-athlete her whole career. She was the first to show up in the gym or classroom and would be the last to leave. 

Cate is currently a volunteer coach for Elevate Volleyball Club, the only interior volleyball club in Alaska. In addition to her volunteer coaching, she has spent countless hours volunteering at multiple organizations in the greater-Fairbanks area, including but not limited to, Fairbanks Girl Scouts of America, The Denali Center, Fairbanks Food Bank, and multiple Fairbanks' area elementary schools. She is actively engaged at UAF and in the local community. Alongside her hundreds of hours in volunteer work, she is also volunteering for clubs on campus like Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the UAF Student Leadership and Involvement Club, and Tau Beta Pi. "Cate is very deserving of this honor," added Scott, "She has dedicated the last five years of her life to becoming the best of what it means to be a student-athlete. She has excelled in the classroom, received honors for her work as an engineer, and with her teammates, has helped create one of the best volleyball teams in program history. She is a model representative for UAF, Alaska, and the GNAC. She deserves any honor that comes her way."

Each year, NCAA member schools are encouraged to celebrate their top graduating female student-athletes by nominating them for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Up to two female student-athletes can be recognized from each school if at least one of them is an international student-athlete or student-athlete of color.

The conference offices will then select up to two student-athletes from their member school nominations. (If two are chosen, one must be an international student-athlete or student-athlete of color.) Nominees who compete in a sport that is not sponsored by their school's primary conference, as well as associate conference nominees and independent nominees, will be picked to advance by a selection committee. The Woman of the Year Selection Committee will then select 10 student-athletes from each division, determining the Top 30 honorees.

Of the Top 30, the Woman of the Year Selection Committee will announce nine finalists, three from each NCAA division. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will review the finalists and name the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year.