Even after graduating from college, Theresa Lang continues to win awards.

Tuesday, September 07, 1999

Even after graduating from college, Theresa Lang continues to win awards.

After picking up the 1998-99 Midwest Sports Channel Most Inspirational Amateur Athlete Award earlier this summer, the recent North Dakota State University graduate was among the 51 state-level winners (including the District of Columbia) for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors outstanding female student-athletes from NCAA institutions who have excelled in the collegiate environment beyond their athletics pursuits with academic achievements and community involvement. The athletes were chosen for the state in which their school resides.

In early January this year, Lang was diagnosed with cancer, but resumed playing, averaging 7.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

A 1995 graduate of Austin High School, Lang was named first-team All-North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as well as a Kodak first-team all-district VII selection in 1998. She is the Bisons’ all-time leader in three-point field goals and three-point field goal shooting percentage.

Lang, who was also a member of the 1996 Division II National Champions, became the 19th women’s basketball player at NDSU to score over 1,000 career points during the 1998-99 season. She also scored over 1,000 career points as a Packer.

Off the court, Lang was heavily involved in community projects in the Fargo area.

For the past three years, she was a volunteer for the Get Into the Game reading program. From 1996-99, she was president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and was a North central Conference Student-Athlete Council member from 1998-99.

Lang graduated from NDSU in May with 3.67 grade-point average and a degree in business administration.

The 1999 NCAA Woman of the Year Awards Dinner will take place Sunday evening, Oct. 24, at 7:30 at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis. Robin Roberts and Kathy Johnson-Clark will serve as masters of ceremonies for the event.

The 51 state winners were chosen from more than 300 nominations. A committee composed of representatives from member schools selected the state winners.

The 51 state-level winners include 28 student-athletes from Division I, 12 student-athletes from Division II and 11 student-athletes from Division III. These student-athletes participated in 11 of the 17 sports in which women compete for NCAA championships.

Ten finalists will be announced later this month. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will select the NCAA Woman of the Year from among the finalists. The national winner will be announced at the dinner.

Other Minnesotan’s selected were Brainerd native Jayna Mathieu, a cross country runner at St. Olaf College and Chari Nordgaard, a basketball player at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, of Dawson.

Previous national winners include: 1998 – Peggy Boutilier, lacrosse and field hockey, University of Virginia; 1997 – Lisa Ann Coole, swimming and diving, University of Georgia; 1996 – Billie Winsett-Fletcher, volleyball, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; 1995 – Rebecca Lobo, basketball, University of Connecticut; 1994 – Tanya Jones, track and field, University of Arizona, 1993 – Nnenna Lynch, track and cross country, Villanova University, 1992 -  Catherine Byrne, swimming and diving, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; and 1991 – Mary Beth Riley, track and field, Canisius College.