La. Tech’s Godwin C-USA’s Woman of Year

RUSTON – Louisiana Tech senior centerfielder Janine Godwin received yet another honor as the graduated Lady Techster softballer was named the Conference USA recipient of the 2015 Woman of the Year Award on Thursday.
Godwin is one of 147 NCAA female student-athletes from across the country honored with the recognition out of a record 480 nominees. Of the 147 recognized, 57 honorees competed in Division I, 39 competed in Division II and 51 competed in Division III.
“Janine was everything you wanted in a student-athlete during her time at Louisiana Tech,” said head coach Mark Montgomery. “We represented the university and the program with class both on and off the field. I am so proud of her for yet another impressive honor.”
Godwin was a four-year letter winner for the Lady Testers, including a two-year starter in the outfield as a junior and senior.
She was a one-time Western Athletic Conference All-Academic honoree (2013) and a two-time member of the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll. As a junior she was the LA Tech recipient of the Conference USA Spirit of Service Award.
Some of Godwin’s leadership activities included serving as team captain, serving as the media coordinator for the LA Tech Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and organizing team-wide and athletic department-wide community service events such as the canned food drive (multiple) and Halloween carnivals. Her community service included volunteering at 4Paws Animal Rescue, working free community softball camps, participating in area school field days, and reading at area elementary schools.
The Woman of the Year selection committee will next select the top 10 honorees in each division. These top 30 honorees will be announced in early September. The committee will then choose and announced the top nine finalists (three from each division). The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will vote from amongst those nine finalists to determine the 2015 Woman of the Year.
Now in its 25th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award recognizes graduating female student-athletes for excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership.
—Information from Louisiana Tech Athletic Communications