ERIE, Pa. - Mercyhurst College women's hockey alumnae Valerie Chouinard has been selected as the College Hockey America nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year, it was announced Thursday by NCAA officials.

The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors senior women student-athletes who have excelled in the areas of academic achievement, athletics, service and leadership.

Chouinard is one of 132 conference nominees representing all three NCAA divisions and multiple sports. In addition, seven student-athletes from independent institutions also will be considered for the national award.

A committee composed of representatives from NCAA member schools and conferences will select the top 30 – 10 from each division – from the conference and independent nominees. From the top 30 honorees, nine finalists – three from each division – will be chosen. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the national winner from the pool of nine finalists and announce the recipient during the 2009 Woman of the Year dinner on October 18 in Indianapolis.

Tennessee women's basketball standout Nkolika Anosike was the 2008 NCAA Woman of the Year.

A 2009 graduate of Mercyhurst College, Chouinard defined the term “student-athlete”.

As a student, she finished two degrees in the span of four years, completing her undergraduate degree in business in the spring of 2008 before obtaining a master's in organizational leadership this past May. She excelled in both courses of study, marking grade point averages of 3.76 as an undergraduate and 3.92 as a postgraduate.

On the ice, she helped the women's hockey team to an overall record of 112-24-12 and four consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, including a run to the national championship game in 2009. Chouinard is just one of two players in program history to achieve 200 points in a career, joining current Laker Meghan Agosta with her two-point (1g, 1a) performance in the team's 5-4 victory over Minnesota in the national semifinals. She finished her career with 91 goals and 109 assists.

Chouinard has been recognized numerous times for her accomplishments both on and off the ice. This past season she was named the CHA Student-Athlete of the Year and a CoSIDA / ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II Second Team honoree. She has earned a spot on the All-CHA squad each season she has played, including her freshman season when she took home the titles of CHA Player and Rookie of the Year and USCHO.com Rookie of the Year.