CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – Winthrop University golfer Valentine Savioz ’24 of Montreux, Switzerland, and High Point University basketball player Callie Scheier have been selected as the Big South Conference’s co-honorees for 2023-24 Woman of the Year.
The two were chosen by the Big South’s Woman of the Year Selection Committee as co-honorees among the nine candidates nominated for the award. The committee considers service and leadership, academic achievement, athletics excellence and a personal statement from each candidate. As the Big South’s Woman of the Year, Savioz and Scheier will advance as the conference’s official nominees for the national NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
The conference’s Woman of the Year Award is sponsored by Big South Corporate Partner Musco Sports Lighting.
About Valentine Savioz
Savioz played in four events in 2023-24 and finished the year with an 85.10 stroke average across her 10 rounds. She concluded her four years at Winthrop with 68 rounds played and an 80.87 career stroke average, along with four Top 10 finishes. Her best season was as a freshman in 2020-21 when she earned All-Conference and All-Freshman honors after concluding the year ranked 12th in the Big South with a 76.53 stroke average and was among the league leaders with three Top 10s.
Savioz earned a biology degree in May, graduating with a 3.83 GPA. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in biomedical research with a specialization in neurosciences at the University of Fribourg, in Switzerland, with the goal of contributing to research and teaching.
Away from the golf course, Savioz was involved in Winthrop Athletics’ annual Trunk-or-Treat event for local children, volunteered at an elementary school, was a four-year member of Winthrop’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee, was an International Ambassador for Winthrop, and assisted with a youth golf clinic during summer 2021 in her home country.
She also shadowed and volunteered with various pharmaceutical professionals in both Rock Hill and in Switzerland during her years as a collegian. Additional achievements include the J.A. Knox Scholarship (2022-24), Winthrop Blue Line Scholarship (2020-24), International Ambassador Scholarship (2023), four Women’s Golf Coach Association All-American Scholar honors, and Big South Women’s Golf All-Academic Team recognition.
Last September, Savioz assisted with a scientific presentation on the effects of MicroRNAs on RYBP Downregulation in Glioblastoma Cells. She conducted undergraduate research in summer 2023 on brain cancer in the laboratory of Daniel Stovall, an assistant professor of biology, where she developed proficiency in various molecular and cellular biology lab techniques, read and discussed scientific literature, maintained a laboratory notebook, and collaborated with teammates to answer novel research questions. She also performed research in a laboratory within the Science Education Alliance-Genes program in the laboratory of Victoria Frost, an associate professor of biology, from January-May 2023, where she investigated bacteriophages using genetic engineering, molecular cloning, phenotypic assays, and phage protein/host protein interaction analyses.
Woman of the Year Program
Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year program has recognized graduating female student-athletes for excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership throughout their college careers.
The NCAA 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 conference-level nominees in the fall. After narrowing the field to nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will choose the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year. The Big South had its first national finalist in 2005 when Big South Hall of Famer Janiva Willis of Winthrop was named one of the 10 finalists.
Winthrop also had Big South Woman of the Year co-honorees in 2017 (Caitlin Cridland ’17), 2018 (Katherine Judge ’18) and 2019 (Megan Kauffman ’19).
For more information, contact Brett Redden of Winthrop Athletics at reddenb@winthrop.edu.
