BEVERLY, Mass. — The Conference of New England (CNE) announced on Tuesday afternoon that Nichols College Women’s Tennis standout Antonia Carrero ’25 and Wentworth Institute of Technology softball standout Jessica Rowe ‘25 were both selected as the CNE’s nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Additionally, the pair are also the conference’s selections for the DIIICA Female Student Athlete of the Year Award.
Carrero, now a two-time Player of the Year between the CNE and formerly known Commonwealth Coast Conference, was also named First Team All-Conference in singles after posting a dominant 10-2 (6-0 CNE) overall record as a lock at the No. 2 position. Carrero also posted an 8-3 overall record in doubles action this season, primarily alongside Schroeder as the No. 2 flight. Throughout the season, Carrero was a two-time Player of the Week honoree, and was also named to the conference's 2024 Community Service Team.
Rowe stood out in the classroom with a 3.962 grade point average while working towards her bachelor's degree in Biological Engineering. On the field, Rowe was a Swiss-army knife for the Black & Gold, making 17 appearances in the circle while batting at the plate 136 times. In the circle, Rowe posted a 3.26 earned runs average and led the Leopards with 59 strikeouts. Offensively, the senior placed second in the league with six triples and six home runs, respectively, while leading the Leopards with a .574 slugging percentage tacked on to her .358 on base percentage and 41 total hits. Rowe finished her illustrious career with 143 hits, 100 RBI, and 16 triples, all the second-highest marks in those respective categories in program history. In the circle, the Yardley, Pa. native went 22-13 with a 3.11 ERA and 156 strikeouts, the eighth-highest mark in program history.
Eligible female student-athletes are nominated by their member school. Each conference office then reviews the nominations from its core member schools (and sponsored sports) and submits its conference nominee(s) to the NCAA. Then, in October, the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee identifies the Top 30 – 10 from each division – and from there selects three finalists from each division. The Committee on Women's Athletics then selects the winner from the nine finalists.
The 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the NCAA 2026 Convention in January.
NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee Finalists - Conference of New England
Grayson Goolgasian (Curry) – Women’s Hockey
Samantha Fantasia (Endicott) – Women’s Hockey
Naomi Nicholson (Gordon) – Women’s Basketball
Antonia Carrero (Nichols) – Women’s Tennis
Emma Terino (Roger Williams) – Women’s Lacrosse
Jessica Rowe (Wentworth) – Softball
Tori Keyes (UNE) – Women’s Soccer
Zoey Wexler (Western New England) – Field Hockey
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE OF NEW ENGLAND
Originally founded in 1984 as the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), and reconstituted as the Conference of New England (CNE) in 2024, the CNE is an NCAA Division III athletic conference composed of 11 full member and five associate member institutions throughout the New England region. Its membership aims to provide student-athletes with a positive experience in their pursuit of excellence through high academic standards, quality competition and a meaningful student life. The Conference administers championships in 21 intercollegiate sports.