Clydesdale Nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year

Emerson basketball guard Natalie Clydesdale ’20 was nominated by Emerson College last month to represent the NEWMAC conference as its NCAA Woman of the Year.

Each college in the New England Woman’s & Men’s Athletic Conference nominated an exceptional student athlete based on academics, athletics, service, and leadership. NEWMAC institutions nominated a total of 10 women for the award, who were among a record 605 nominees nationwide.

While the conference ultimately selected Coast Guard Academy track-and-field athlete Adora Lawrence and MIT soccer player Emily Berzolla to represent NEWMAC, all the nominees “clearly reflect the conference’s commitment to academic and athletic excellence while also showing how much further our student-athletes engage with their campus communities and beyond,” NEWMAC Executive Director Patrick B. Summers said in a press release.

Clydesdale graduated from Emerson in May with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Sports Communication. She was named the 2020 Emerson Student-Athlete of the Year, and graduated with the highest grade point average in the Journalism Department. She also was a Gold Key Honor Society member for the past two years.

As a student-athlete, Clydesdale was named to the All-Sportsmanship team in 2018, and was a three-time American All-Conference honoree. She led the Lions to three NEWMAC Tournament appearances.

Off the court, Clydedale worked as a reporter for WEBN, Emerson’s news channel, where she produced and directed the weekly sports show. She and her team earned an honorable mention from the New England Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for their Super Bowl coverage this past February.

In addition, Clydesdale’s byline appeared on Emerson Today this spring, as an intern with the School of Communication.