Aug. 27, 2007

ABILENE, Texas - Former Hardin-Simmons University volleyball player Virginia Aguilar, a two-time American Southwest Conference West Division Player of the Year and academic All-American, has been named one of 30 national semifinalists for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Now in its 17th year, the Women of Year award honors exceptional female student-athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics and community leadership, and have completed their collegiate athletics eligibility. A committee comprised of representatives from NCAA member schools and conferences selected the top 30 out of 128 conference and independent nominees.

A national winner - the NCAA Woman of the Year - will be selected by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics from among nine finalists. The top nine finalists will be announced in September.

The 2007 Woman of the Year will be announced during the annual awards dinner Oct. 27 in Indianapolis.

"In athletics, Virginia has always placed the goals of her teammates above any individual goal. I truly believe that she values the conference championship in volleyball that HSU won as a team this year more than any of the career records she has set," HSU Director of Athletics John Neese said of Aguilar, a computer science major who maintained a 4.0 grade-point average over her four-year playing career. "In the classroom, she has earned the respect of her professors and peers. She has set a high standard for all of our athletes to follow in the future."

In 2007, Aguilar spearheaded the Cowgirls' first-ever ASC volleyball title and berth into NCAA national tournament. She was named Most Valuable Player of the league's championship tournament. Aguilar led the ASC with a .343 hitting percentage and was among the leaders in service aces and blocks en route to making a second straight appearance on the all-ASC team. The 5-10 middle blocker is the HSU record holder for kills, blocks, service aces and total points scored.

Aguilar was also active on the Abilene, Texas, campus in the Epsilon Pi Alpha service club, the Gamma Beta Phi and Delta Mu Delta business and computer science clubs. She represented the volleyball team on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She also received the Olsen Medal as the graduate who has the highest grade average, exemplifies the highest in scholarly achievement, and has completed 90 semester hours of residence credit at HSU.

The NCAA Woman of the Year award honors senior student-athletes for their cumulative collegiate achievements in service, leadership, athletics and academics. Nominees must have earned a varsity letter in a NCAA-sponsored sport and competed during the 2006-07 academic year. Also, they must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in a primary sport by the end of the 2007 spring season or received an undergraduate degree prior to the conclusion of the spring 2007 term and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50 (4.00 scale).