TOLEDO, OH - Toledo graduates Samantha Richart (Saline, MI) and Sathika Ruenreong (Kanchanaburi, Thailand) are two of the 517 student-athletes that have been nominated for the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year award. The NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academics, athletics, service and leadership.

Richart currently holds eight times in Toledo's Top-Ten All-Time records, five of which were recorded this past year. Richart dominated the 100-yard breaststroke throughout the season, recording a first-place finish in eight out of nine meets. The senior touched second in the 100-yard breaststroke at the Mid-American Conference Championships with a time of 1:00.54. She recorded a meet-record and personal-best time of 59.88 in the preliminary round of the event. Richart qualified for the 2016 NCAA Women's Swimming Championships and placed 31st out of 50 swimmers in the 100-yard breaststroke preliminaries with a time of 1:00.78. She is currently training for the 2016 Olympic Team Trials in the 100-meter breaststroke and will compete on Monday, June 22 at the CentruyLink Center in Omaha, NE.
 
Ruenreong took home Most Valuable Player honors for a fourth-straight season after setting school season records for stroke average (73.83), most rounds (36), most rounds under 80 (36) and tying the record for most tourney titles (2). A first-team all-conference honoree for a fourth-straight year, Ruenreong leaves the Rocket program as the career record holder for lowest stroke average (74.94), most rounds under 80 (122) and the co-leader for most tournament crowns (4). She also became the first Rocket ever to appear in the NCAA Regionals as she tied for 36th place out of 96 golfers at the Shoal Creek Regional.
 
The pool of 517 school honorees marks the largest in the 26-year history of the award. Of the nominees for the national award, 231 competed in Division I, 117 competed in Division II and 169 competed in Division III athletics. The nominees also represent 21 different women's sports, and 127 of the nominees competed in more than one sport in college.
 
Once a school submits the names of their top graduating female student-athletes, conferences will assess their member school nominees and select up to two conference nominees. The Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will then choose the top 30 honorees—10 from each division. 
 
From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three honorees from each division and announces the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses from among those nine to determine the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year.
 
The top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 16 in Indianapolis.