Amherst College’s Division III swimming senior standout Kendra Stern has been voted the nation’s top collegiate female athlete in her division. The honors were based on the results of national balloting among Division III schools as part of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program, now in its 35th year. Stern will be presented the Honda Sports Award for Division III Athlete of the Year at a ceremony at Columbia University in New York on June 27.

Stern, the 2011 NCAA Division III Swimmer of the Year, is a 10-time NCAA individual champion. The Albuquerque, NM native is the NCAA record holder in the 100, 200, and 500-yard freestyle. She is a 3-time NCAA relay champion, holds six NESCAC records, 10 school records, six Amherst pool records and five NESCAC Championship meet records. Stern has 12 individual NESCAC titles, is a 3-time NESCAC Swimmer of the Year. She qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials in three events. For her career she is undefeated in the 100 and 200-yard freestyle.

She graduated with a 3.76 GPA as a double major in art history and Spanish. Noted Stern, "I am very humbled to be singled out from a phenomenal group of Division III female athletes to receive the Honda Sports Award. As a senior, the honor is especially meaningful to put the final cap on my collegiate career. I know that none of my achievements would have been imaginable without the day-in and day-out support of my coaches, my professors, my family, and especially my teammates. I was very lucky in my four years at Amherst to be a part of a team that was about so much more than just the sport. These remarkable women became my close friends, and I share this award with all of them for pushing me every day, cheering for me both in and out of the pool, and being my extended family away from home."

The Division III Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year Nominees were:

Julie Barton, field hockey, Messiah College
Paige Caldwell, golf, Methodist University
Jaci Daigneault, basketball, Amherst College
Alison Jaeger, lacrosse, The College of New Jersey
Emilee Lepp, softball, Linfield College
Kristin Lim, tennis, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Amelia McCall, volleyball, Emory University
Amanda Naeher, soccer, Messiah College
Holly Ozanich, track and field, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Wendy Pavlus, cross country, St. Lawrence University
*Kendra Stern, swimming, Amherst College