NORFOLK, Va. – Coppin State University’s Christina Epps and Megan Buja of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore have advanced to the round of 30 in the 2014 NCAA Woman of the Year selection process.
Epps and Buja are among 30 women, selected from a group of nearly 450 nominees, still in the running for the prestigious award. The top 30 women are composed of 10 honorees from each NCAA Division spanning various NCAA sports. Other Division I nominees include winners from Northwestern, Georgetown, Dartmouth, Arizona, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Stanford and Furman. The MEAC and PAC-12 were the only conferences to get two nominees among the finalists.
“The MEAC family congratulates Coppin State’s Christina Epps and Maryland Eastern Shore’s Megan Buja for advancing in the 2014 Woman of the Year process,” said MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas. “Throughout their collegiate careers, Miss Epps and Miss Buja have exemplified academic and athletic excellence and have displayed an impressive resume of community service and leadership at their respective institutions and in the MEAC. We salute Miss Epps and Miss Buja and support their efforts of representing the MEAC in the NCAA Woman of the Year process.”
The award celebrates the achievements of senior female student-athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics, service and leadership.
The top 30 honorees reflect the pillars of the Woman of the Year award; outstanding achievements in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. Cumulatively, the top 30 earned a 3.85 grade-point average and more than 90 Academic All-America honors. The top 30 earn nearly 27 national championships (individual and team) and 38 All-America honors in their respective sports. They also spent more than 24,000 hours volunteering during their college careers. Many served as team captains and held leadership positions in various campus and community organizations.
Epps, the 2014 MEAC Woman of the Year, graduated in 2014 with a 3.30 grade point average in Psychology and amassed many academic accomplishments before departing Coppin State. She was on the Dean’s List four straight years, inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma National Honor Society and the Psi Chi International Honor Society. Epps was also selected as a United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Academic All-American in 2011, 2012 and 2014 and a member of the MEAC Commissioner’s All-Academic Team all four years.
“I am extremely excited and honored to represent Coppin State,” Epps said. “This honor ranks right up there in all the accolades I have received. I want to thank God, my mom, and my brother for introducing me to track. I am very appreciative of all of the support from my friends and teammates who have always been there for me.”
Buja graduated with a 4.0 grade point average. She accounted for three NCAA Elite 89 Awards and a pair of Capital One Academic All-America honors. Buja won four National Championships during her time at Maryland Eastern Shore, two were NCAA titles. Outside of the classroom and off the lanes, Buja served as a team captain. She was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), serving as Vice President. Buja also served the community, volunteering her time with tutoring, working in a women’s shelter, and various clean-up projects in her town.
“I am very excited to make the top 30 and be a part of the top 10 in (NCAA) Division I,” Buja said. “It’s pretty amazing to me and to know that what I have done the past three years in being recognized. I am just blessed for the opportunity to be selected in this process. It is a pretty amazing feat to have two from our conference in this process.”
In late September, three finalists from each division will be selected to form the nine finalists for the award. Epps and Buja, along with the women will attend the annual ceremony on Oct. 19 in Indianapolis, home of the NCAA headquarters, where the 2014 Woman of the Year will be announced.