Valentine Confalonieri, a sophomore from Lynn University, was named the 2014 DII Woman of the Year nominee for tennis as announced by Executive Director Chris Voelz of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda.

She is now designated one of 11 finalists for the prestigious DII Woman Athlete of the Year honor. This will be voted on at the end of the academic year by national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of THE CWSA program, now in its 38th year.

Confalonieri is a two-time ITA All-American for singles and doubles. A native of Sanremo, Italy, she completed her season as the top-ranked player in Division II going 26-0 in singles on the year and posting a 23-1 mark in doubles. She helped Lynn earn its 18^th consecutive NCAA Tournament berth this spring. She was also named the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Player of the Year and earned her second-straight first-team All-SSC honors.

"We are all very proud of Valentine in receiving this prestigious honor,” said head coach Mike Perez. “Vale had a year for ages here in 2013-14, but even more impressive was her on court demeanor and maturity. That is really a tribute to Vale. Her whole team, myself included, wish her nothing but the best in the upcoming balloting. “

All sports nominees from DII and DIII become a finalist for the prestigious 2014 CWSA Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year in their respective divisions, presented in June. The sports nominees are recognized in 11 DII and DIII NCAA-sanctioned sports; cross country, basketball, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, volleyball, and track & field.

THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for 37 years, recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its sponsorship in 1986, Honda has provided more than $2.8 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs at the institutions.