Stephanie Leimbach

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Northern Kentucky University’s Stephanie Leimbach has been named Kentucky’s Woman of the Year by the NCAA.

The NCAA Woman of the Year recognizes outstanding female student-athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics and community leadership. Chosen by a committee of representatives from member institutions, 29 of the 2005 state honorees are from Division I, while 16 represent Division II and six are from Division III. They represent 15 sports.

The committee of institutional representatives also will select 10 finalists from the 51 state winners, based on grade point average, athletics achievement and community service. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will chose the national winner from among the 10 finalists. Finalists will be revealed in the Sept. 26 issue of The NCAA News.

The 2005 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced during the annual awards dinner Oct. 29 in Indianapolis.

Leimbach, a four-year starter for the NKU softball team, led the Norse to a record-breaking 55 consecutive victories in 2005. She also earned NCAA Division II All-America honors after batting .399 and helping NKU capture the Great Lakes Regional championship for the second straight year.

A native of Hilliard, Ohio, and a graduate of Darby High School, Leimbach finished her career as NKU’s all-time leader in hits (258) and runs scored (151). A center fielder, she also stole a school-record 25 bases as a senior and also had a 1.000 fielding percentage.

A four-time member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference All-Academic Team, Leimbach was named a recipient of NKU’s Margery Rouse Athlete of Distinction Award in April.

This year’s state winners were chosen from a pool of 352 nominations, 76 more than in 2004 and the most since 2000, when there also were 352 candidates for the honor.