GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND Athletics)– Over the last four years, Julia Fleecs has garnered countless accolades and cemented herself in the University of North Dakota women’s basketball history book. As a player, she will be remembered as one of the best in the program’s Summit League era.
While on the court recognition is nice, Fleecs will long be remembered as one of the Fighting Hawks top Scholar-Athletes in school history. However, before beginning medical school at the University of Iowa next fall, the Glidden, Iowa product collected one last honor alongside her degree this week; it was UND’s nomination of Fleecs for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
“Julia has been an outstanding student-athlete in her four years at UND and has certainly earned this nomination for NCAA Woman of the Year,” said Director of Athletics Bill Chaves. “Her accomplishments in the classroom, on the court and in the community have been exemplary I know she will continue to do that as she pursues her medical degree.”
The NCAA Woman of the Year program was established in 1991 and honors the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service, and leadership of graduating female college athletes from all three divisions.
Julia has been an outstanding student-athlete in her four years at UND and has certainly earned this nomination for NCAA Woman of the Year. Her accomplishments in the classroom, on the court and in the community have been exemplary I know she will continue to do that as she pursues her medical degree.
Director of Athletics Bill Chaves
Over the last two seasons, Fleecs has ranked in the top-10 in The Summit League in scoring and rebounding, earning Second Team All-Summit League honors in 2020 and Honorable Mention accolades in 2021. She averaged a career-high 13.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game this past season, scoring 20 points five times and recording seven double-doubles.
As a scholar-athlete, the Glidden-Ralston High School product earned Academic All-Summit League accolades after her junior and senior seasons and has been a two-time Summit League Academic Honor Roll and Commissioners List honoree. Fleecs, named UND’s 2021 Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, graduated from the University of North Dakota in May with a bachelor’s degree in Biology Pre-Health. As noted, she will attend the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine at Iowa this fall.
While her academics have been among the top in her class, her service to the Grand Forks and campus community has been prodigious. Throughout her career, Fleecs has contributed over 100 hours of community service. Whether it was the USDA Farmers to Families Food Distribution program, tutoring school children transitioning to virtual learning, or taking on a pseudo-family member role during the shutdown of assisted living centers, Fleecs’ service efforts over the last 15 months alone are exploits that anyone can commend for her selflessness.
UND submitted Fleecs’ name to The Summit League, where it will now select up to two nominees each from the pool of school nominees. Then, the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees – 10 from each division.
From the Top 30, the selection committee determines the top three honorees from each division and announces the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics then chooses the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine.
The Top 30 honorees will be celebrated, and the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year will be named later in the Fall.
By Matt Scheerer, FightingHawks.com
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