GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College softball and women's basketball player Lydia Stariha '17 has been nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year honor for 2017. 
  
Stariha joins a field of 544 honorees, the largest in the history of the Woman of the Year program. The program, in its 27th year, revolves around four pillars – academics, athletics, service and leadership. 

Stariha, winner of Grinnell's prestigious Joyce Buck '56 Award, was an All-Midwest Conference shortstop in softball in 2017. She led the league in at-bats with 66 and was third in triples with two. Stariha holds school records for career at-bats (418), career runs (85) and assists in a game (13) and tied the school mark for hits in a game with four against Knox College. Her 107 assists rank second in school history. 

On the basketball court, Stariha ranked among the team's leaders in steals, rebounds, assists and free throws made as Grinnell advanced to the league tournament for the second year in a row.