LANCASTER, Pa. – Recent Swarthmore College graduates Katie Lytle and Aarti Rao have been selected as nominees for the 2014 NCAA Woman of the Year award, as announced by the league office following a vote by Conference administrators. Lytle was named the Centennial Conference Woman of the Year, while Rao was chosen to represent the conference on the national level as well.
 
The NCAA Woman of the Year Award is presented annually to a graduating student-athlete who has distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.
 
Lytle, a four-year letterwinner in women's basketball who also competed in track & field for two seasons, was a Capital One Academic All-America Second Team honoree and a WBCA All-America First Team selection in basketball this past winter. She was the Centennial Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year twice as well as a Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Team member.
 
Lytle ended her career on the hardwood with 50 career double-doubles while ranking sixth all-time in scoring (1,382 points), third in rebounding (1,050), fourth in steals (228), fourth in blocks (85) and seventh in field goals made (495). She also graduated as one of three players in program history to record at least 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
 
A mathematics and economics double major from Harrisburg, Lytle was also a standout track & field athlete who holds the school record in the javelin throw with a mark of 110-feet, 4-inches. She has been an all-conference selection in her primary event and piled up points in the heptathlon at the 2014 Centennial Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Lytle is also a two-time winner of the institution's Gladys Irish Award, which is presented to the junior or senior woman at Swarthmore who, through her commitment, dedication and the pure enjoyment of her sport, has achieved the highest degree of excellence.
 
In addition, Lytle has used athletics as an avenue to become more active in the community and to develop as a leader. Her involvement in service and leadership activities has included helping with Special Olympics fundraisers, community basketball clinics, Philabundance and the Ronald McDonald House. Lytle, a women's basketball team captain who hopes to pursue a career in collegiate athletic administration, was also an economics peer tutor and attended the Snell-Shillingford Leadership Symposium this past year.
 
Rao, a sociology/anthropology and biology double major who hails from Chatsworth, Calif., was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter as a midfielder with the Swarthmore field hockey team. She finished her career with 40 points on 11 goals and 18 assists, which included setting career highs in all three categories as a senior in 2013. Rao made the Centennial Conference All-Sportsmanship Team during her senior campaign and also concluded her career ranked eighth all-time in assists (18). Academically, she earned a place on the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll as well as the SGI/NFHCA Division III Collegiate National Academic Squad three times.
 
As one of six Swarthmore students selected as a Lang Opportunity Scholar, Rao took advantage of the opportunity to spend two summers researching and helping women in rural Rajasthan in India access adequate maternal health facilities. Her other community service endeavors include being a regular volunteer with TOPSoccer and the Kaiser Permanente Hospital as well as working with Jnana Jyothi and the Arts, which involved being a project manager for teaching dance classes to children of women in rural India. Rao hopes to pursue a career in which she can be dedicated to improving maternal and child health within vulnerable populations on a global scale.
 
The Woman of the Year selection committee will select the top 30 honorees – 10 from each division – from the conference nominees which include Lytle and Rao. From among those 30 candidates, the selection committee determines the top three in each division and announces the top nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics (CWA) will then vote from among the finalists to determine the 2014 NCAA 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.
 
Lytle and Rao become Swarthmore's third and fourth female student-athletes to be placed on the national ballot, marking the first time in school history that the institution will have multiple nominees in the same year. Caitlin Mullarkey '09 represented the Centennial Conference in the NCAA Woman of the Year contest in 2009, while Kristen English '01 was the Pennsylvania representative and national finalist in 2001.