Wayne State University Athletics

Women's Swimming & Diving 7/16/2020 8:45:00 AM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Michalski Nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year

DETROIT -- Wayne State University swimmer Ashlen Michalski (Shelby Twp., Mich. / Eisenhower) was WSU's nominee for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Michalski, who was a four-year letterwinner (2016-20), earned her degree in Public Health this past May with a 3.52 cumulative GPA.

In the pool, she was a 10-time All-American (five First Team and five Honorable Mention certificates) as well as a 12-time All-GLIAC swimmer (top three in an event).

A 2019 GLIAC Commissioner's Award recipient for outstanding athletic and academic achievement, Michalski was a three-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team honoree who was on WSU's Academic Honor Roll all eight terms. She was named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+) three times and the Coach's Honor Roll (term GPA –3.0-3.49) the other five semesters.

Michalski was a two-year recipient of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award (2018-19 and 2019-20) along with earning CSCAA Scholar All-American recognition in both 2018-19 and 2019-20,

She served as a team co-captain in both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

A member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Michalski logged over 70 hours of community service. In addition, she interned with CAP (Community Advocacy Project), which is a WSU non-profit that places victims of domestic abuse with advocates who provide emotional support and help them develop skills to reach their goals.

She was co-creator with her younger sister of Scrunchies4Change, an Etsy shop where they make and sell scrunchies, while donating 100% of the proceeds towards the Black Lives Matter movement.

Ashlen has served as the treasurer of Detroit Feedback Loop, a non-profit aimed towards eliminating excess food and hunger in the Detroit area.

She is currently working as a behavioral technician at an autism center. Michalski plans to pursue a master's in Social Work in order to combine her knowledge of Public Health and health disparities with knowledge of social work to help those in need.

-------------------------
From the NCAA

NCAA member schools have nominated a record 605 female college athletes for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year Award,. which marks its 30th year in 2020.

Rooted in Title IX, the NCAA Woman of the Year Award was established in 1991 to recognize graduating female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

The nominees represent all three NCAA divisions, including 259 nominees from Division I, 126 from Division II and 220 from Division III. Nominees competed in 24 sports, with multi-sport student-athletes accounting for 128 of the nominees.

Member schools were encouraged to honor their top graduating female college athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year Award. Schools can recognize two nominees if at least one is a woman of color or international student-athlete. The four pillars of the Woman of the Year Award are academics, athletics, service and leadership.

Conference offices will select up to two nominees each from their pool of member school nominees. All nominees who compete in a sport not sponsored by their school's primary conference, as well as associate conference nominees and independent nominees, will be considered by a selection committee. Then, the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.

From the Top 30, the Woman of the Year selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division and announce nine finalists. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then will choose the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be named this fall.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Ashlen Michalski: Back/Free/Fly; 5' 8"; Senior

Players Mentioned

Ashlen Michalski
: 5' 8"; Senior
: Back/Free/Fly