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Winsett-Fletcher is Woman of the Year

Nebraska volleyball player is sixth winner of award

Billie Winsett-Fletcher, a member of the 1995 NCAA national-championship volleyball team from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, has been selected as the NCAA Woman of the Year.

Winsett-Fletcher received the award at the sixth annual NCAA Woman of the Year awards dinner October 6 in Kansas City, Missouri. The award honors academic and athletics excellence as well as community service and leadership.

Winsett-Fletcher was chosen from 333 entries. A special selection committee chose 50 state winners plus a winner from the District of Columbia and then narrowed that field to 10 national finalists. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics chose the winner from that field.

"Even though we all come from different sports and different backgrounds, there is a commonality that we all share," Winsett-Fletcher said of the state winners. "And I think we all wish we could be on the same team participating in the same sport, whatever sport that might be. It would be an awesome team."

She praised the Woman of the Year program, saying the purpose goes beyond individual recognition.

"I hope that this entire Woman of the Year effort encourages other women to become active in meeting community needs," she said. "It is nice to see how the winners have excelled in all three areas (academics, athletics and community service). But doing for others is what really counts."

Winsett-Fletcher achieved a nearly perfect grade-point average at Nebraska, where she majored in secondary education and competed as an outside hitter on the women's volleyball team. She was named to the all-tournament team after Nebraska's Division I victory in 1995 and was a two-time all-Big Eight Conference selection.

A native of Booneville, Indiana, Winsett-Fletcher was an active volunteer throughout her college career. She was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and volunteered with several children's programs, such as the Malone Community Youth Center and the Behavioral Skills Program. She spoke to school assemblies and at special events, including Nebraska's "School is Cool" Jam, which attracts 14,000 middle-school students each year.

The other finalists were Mary-Alice Brady, Boston College; Amy S. DeVasher, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; Kristi Kloster, University of Kansas; Marya Morusiewicz, Barry University; Kathleen Nichole (Nikki) Nicholson, University of Georgia; Jenni Rademacher, North Dakota State University; Annette Salmeen, University of California, Los Angeles; Samantha Salvia, Old Dominion University; and Katie Smith Ohio State University.

Previous winners were Rebecca Lobo, University of Connecticut, 1995; Tanya Hughes, University of Arizona, 1994; Nnenna Lynch, Villanova University, 1993; Catherine Byrne, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1992; and Mary Beth Riley, Canisius College, 1991.