Chiang, Ricketts nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year
ORANGE, Calif. – Chapman University Athletics nominated two accomplished student-athletes for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award – Camille Chiang and Jessica Ricketts. The women's water polo and women's lacrosse standouts on the field and in the classroom were two of a record-breaking 619 nominees across all three divisions of the NCAA.
NCAA institutions are allowed to make two nominations for Woman of the Year if one is a woman of color or an international student-athlete. Chapman nominated two students of color.
Chiang was a leader on Chapman's water polo team from 2020-23. She was quickly putting together a fantastic freshman season when the COVID-19 pandemic stopped the season before the halfway point. As the spring sports resumed for a shortened season in 2021, Chiang continued to be a leader in the pool.
She scored over 118 career goals, assisted on 129 more and came up with 156 career steals. She led the team in goals scored in 2021, in assists in 2021 and 2023, as well as leading in steals in 2022 and 2023. She was a two-time All-American and three-time All-SCIAC selection.
In addition to her in-pool accomplishments, Chiang was made a Team Captain as a sophomore and helped bring the team together out of the COVID-19 pandemic. She spent her final three seasons as a Team Captain while maintaining a 3.59 GPA to earn he degree in Psychology.
Ricketts also had a pair of seasons cut short due to the pandemic and had her best season as a senior. The Panthers secured back-to-back 11-win seasons in 2022 and 2023. The Second Team All-Region selection in 2023 set every Chapman draw control record despite playing two shortened seasons. She picked up a single season record 103 draw controls this season to improve her school-record career total to 184. She also scored 61 career goals and assisted on 1 more.
She also thrived in the classroom, graduating with a 3.80 GPA as a Business Finance major with a double minor in Leadership Studies and Music Business. She was extensively involved with Camp Kasem – a national organization that supports children whose parents are battling cancer, recently serving as the Treasurer for the local chapter at Chapman. Additionally, she was involved the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and part of the leadership team for Alpha Gamma Delta. Ricketts also won the Albert Schweitzer Spirit of Service Distinction in 2023.
Both Chiang and Ricketts enter the pool of applicants for the SCIAC, which will pick its two winners from the nine institutions.
By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director