Former Duke women's golfer Virginia Elena Carta named 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year finalist

<p>Virginia Elena Carta was recently named one of nine finalists for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year award.</p>

Virginia Elena Carta was recently named one of nine finalists for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year award.

After leading her team to the program’s seventh national championship this spring, then-senior Virginia Elena Carta put a close to her record-breaking four-year career. 

But according to the NCAA, her impact stretched more than simply on the golf course or in the local Durham community. The Udine, Italy native was named a finalist for one of the most prestigious awards by the governing body of college athletics Wednesday afternoon. 

Carta is one of only nine finalists for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. These nine finalists were selected from an honoree pool of 30 that is spanned equally from the three divisions of college athletics. Before the list was minimized to 30, schools had the opportunity to nominate their players and a record 585 student-athletes were selected. 

Back in 2016, Carta made a name for herself on the college circuit by bringing home the individual national title as a freshman. Then this past May, she became one of only four Blue Devil golfers that could claim both individual and team national championship honors. 

In her junior season, Carta created the Birdies for Babies program, a golf to raise money for the Duke Children's Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units. 

The former Duke standout will be honored Oct. 20 in Indianapolis, Ind., along with her eight fellow finalists. That night, the winner of the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year Award will be announced. Carta is joined by Nebraska’s Angela Mercurio and West Virginia’s Ginny Thrasher who competed in track and field and rifle, respectively, from the Division I level. 

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