The University of Delaware’s Esmée Peet, a four-time All-American field hockey player who led the Blue Hens to the NCAA national title this past fall, is one of a record 543 female college athletes who have been nominated for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year award.

Established in 1991 and now in its 27th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers. The average grade point average for the entire group of nominees is an incredible 3.69.

The school nominees represent all three NCAA divisions, with 229 from Division I, 117 from Division II and 197 from Division III. The nominees competed in 21 different women’s sports and 122 were multisport athletes during their time in college.

A native of Zeewolde, The Netherlands, Peet’s hard work, leadership, and motivation helped her to became one of the all-time great student-athletes in UD history as she earned All-American, All-Region and All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA)  honors each of her four seasons while leading the squad to a combined record of 69-22 and four straight league titles and NCAA tournament appearances.

As a four-time All-American and two-year captain, an honor student in the classroom, a community service volunteer, and as a member of the 2016 national champion UD field hockey team, Peet made the most of her experience as a Blue Hen. In May, she received UD’s prestigious Mary Ann Hitchens Award, which is presented to a senior female letter winner who exhibits outstanding qualities of hard work, dedication, leadership, fairness and striving for excellence.

An outstanding scholar, Peet earned her degree with honors as a business/operations management major this past May after earning spots on both the NFHCA National Academic squad and CAA Academic Honor Roll while being nominated for CoSIDA Academic All-American honors thanks to her 3.80 grade point average. In the community, Peet was an active volunteer with her teammates in support of Special Olympics, Polar Bear Plunge and UDance initiatives.

The NCAA Woman of the Year Award process will continue later this summer as conferences will select up to two conference nominees each from the pool of school nominees. The Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will then choose the top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.

From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three honorees from each division and announces the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics then chooses the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine.

The top 30 honorees will be recognized and the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 22 in Indianapolis.

Peet is aiming to become the second UD student-athlete to advance to the final 30. She hopes to join former UD standout field hockey player Leah Geib, who was a Top 10 finalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award in 2005. Geib was inducted into the UD Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015.