INDIANAPOLIS - 2023 senior and Fresno State graduate Ana Bertozzi has moved forward in the process of NCAA Woman of the Year as a conference-level nominee.
Bertozzi had an impressive career as a Bulldog, competing from 2019-23. Her last season in 2022-23 was a big one as she earned All-American honors in the fences with a 10-2-0 record in the event. She was also a model student and community member. Bertozzi graduated from Fresno State in the Spring of 2023 with a degree in animal science with an emphasis in pre-vet.
The NCAA announced 164 conference-level nominees for the 2023 Woman of the Year award. The initial pool of candidates was 619 student-athletes from around the country. Conference offices could choose up to two student-athletes from their member school nominations if at least one was an international student-athlete or student-athlete of color. All nominees who compete in a sport not sponsored by their school's primary conference, including Bertozzi as a competitor in the Big 12 at a Mountain West institution, and independent nominees were sent to a separate pool considered by a selection committee.
The NCAA Woman of the Year program was established in 1991 and honors the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership of graduating female college athletes from all three divisions. To be eligible, a nominee must have competed and earned a varsity letter in an NCAA-sponsored sport and must have earned her undergraduate degree by Summer 2023.
The next steps in the process include the Woman of the Year Selection Committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division — from the conference-level nominees. The Top 30 honorees will be announced in October. The selection committee will then determine the top three honorees in each division from the Top 30, and the nine finalists will be announced in November. From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will choose the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year. The honorees will be celebrated at the Woman of the Year Award Presentation at the NCAA Convention in Phoenix in January.
Ana Bertozzi
Bertozzi, a native of Leesburg, Va., graduated with a 3.97 cumulative grade point average while earning her animal science degree with an emphasis in pre-veterinary studies. Bertozzi also had a women's studies minor.
In the 2022-23 year, Bertozzi was a fences All-American as she finished with a 10-2-0 record in the event.
She finished out the season with eight-straight fences points, winning from Nov. 17, 2022 through Mar. 25, 2023 and she was the only Bulldog to have a 10 win season in any event on the year
Nine of her 10 fences wins were against ranked opponents
She earned academic awards as an NCEA All-Academic first team and NCEA Academic Honor Roll selection
Bertozzi volunteered her time in various ways around the Fresno State and Central Valley community - Saturday Sports, CASA, Blue Ridge Veterinary Services, Valley Animal Shelter, Echo Equine Veterinary Service, Beautify Fresno, Fresno County Horse Park, Madera Unified School District, and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.