May 28, 2010
Vanderbilt Athletics has nominated All-American bowler Josie Earnest for the coveted NCAA Woman of the Year award for 2010.
The Woman of the Year is one of the most special honors given by the NCAA and attracts a tremendous field of applicants from around the nation. The award strongly considers athletic achievement along with academic success and community service.
“I am very honored and surprised that I was nominated for this award,” Earnest says. “While I am proud of everything I have accomplished at Vanderbilt, there are many other athletes that have had outstanding careers here as well. I am grateful to Vanderbilt University and its athletic staff for giving me the chance to represent them. It is just a final reminder of the great opportunities that Vanderbilt has afforded me as I move forward onto the next phase of my life.”
Earnest graduated this month as perhaps the most decorated student-athlete in school history. Among her accomplishments were anchoring the 2007 team to Vanderbilt’s first-ever NCAA team championship. She was a two-time National Bowler of the Year, the only Commodore to every win such an honor in any sport, and she was a two-time first-team academic All-America.
The Vandalia, Ill., product was also a three-time first-team All-America, the MVP of the 2007 NCAA Championship and the 2008 Tennessee Amateur Co-Athlete of the Year. She was a five-time member of the United States’ Junior Team.
Earnest became the Commodore bowling program’s first-ever team captain by a unanimous vote of her teammates. She earned a 3.185 grade point average in Human Organizational Development with an emphasis on International Leadership and Development.
While at Vanderbilt, Josie served the greater Nashville community as well. She participated in Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital Dance-A-Thon, helped organize Vanderbilt’s annual Christmas party for inner-city youth, and participated in the annual Field day at Vanderbilt.
“Josie had such a special career here that she will always be one person that all of our program’s future stars will be compared with,” Coach John Williamson says. “She was a break-thru performer for our program in many ways, a true difference-maker.”
Earnest’s nomination has been submitted to the Southeastern Conference for consideration as the league’s Woman of the Year. Conference winners are then forwarded to the NCAA for final consideration.