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DeChent, a Putnam Valley High School graduate, is the lone Freedom Conference representative in the very select group, which is picked from NCAA Divisions I, II and III spans 15 different sports. She is one of only 49 student-athletes to come from Division III on the list, compared to 52 from Division I and 25 from Division II.
A three-year standout on the field hockey field for Manhattanville, DeChent earned back-to-back NFHCA All-America recognition as a junior and senior along with two straight Manhattanville Female Athlete of the Year honors. She led Division III in goals per game and points per game as a senior with 30 goals and 13 assists for 73 points, and in only three years graduated as the Freedom Conference's all-time leader in goals (73) and points (182). DeChent was just as successful in the classroom at Manhattanville, earning MAC Academic All-Conference recognition this year in addition to earning NFHCA Academic Squad and MAC Fall Academic Honor Roll recognition. The biology (pre-med) major is also a member of the Tri-Beta National Honor Society and a recipient of Manhattanville's prestigious Castle Pin. The Woman of the Year selection committee will select the top 10 honorees in each division from this pool to be recognized in early September. The committee will then choose and announce the top nine finalists (three from each division) at the end of September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will vote from amongst those nine finalists to determine the 2014 Woman of the Year.
The top 30 honorees will be honored, and the 2014 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced, at the annual ceremony in Indianapolis on Sunday, Oct. 19.
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