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Shrewsbury – Jess Perkins, a graduate of Shrewsbury High School and Saint Anselm College and a four-year member of the women’s tennis program, has been selected by the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) as a nominee for its Woman of the Year award.
The program honors the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership of outstanding female college student-athletes.
Perkins graduated from Saint Anselm in May with a degree (with honors) in nursing, recording a grade-point average north of 3.8. A member of three different honors societies, Perkins is currently employed by Massachusetts General Hospital as a registered nurse in the Intensive Care Unit.
She served as a nursing fellow at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in the summer of 2017 before conducting her senior preceptorship in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit this past spring. Perkins has also volunteered her time at Easter Seals in Manchester, N.H., and at the Hillsborough County Nursing Home in Goffstown, N.H.
“It is truly an honor to be nominated for such a prestigious award and I owe it all to my professors, coaches, teammates, family and friends,” said Perkins upon her nomination. “My time as a scholar-athlete at Saint Anselm College has helped me to clarify my values and has empowered me to continuously look for ways to enrich the lives of those around me.”
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A four-time Most Valuable Player award for the women’s tennis program, Perkins became the first student-athlete in program history to reach 100 match wins for her career, finishing 103-31 combined in singles and doubles. Along with a dominant 60-10 career record at No. 1 singles, the two-time team captain was ranked in East Region’s top-20 by Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) throughout her senior season. As a junior, she finished as the runner-up in the 2016 ITA East Region Championship.
Academically, Perkins was named to the NE10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll in all eight of her semesters on the Hilltop and the dean’s list in seven of her eight terms. She was also honored as an NE10 Academic All-Conference selection last spring and received the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award following her junior year. Earlier this spring, she was named the co-recipient of Saint Anselm’s Female Senior Scholar-Athlete Award.
“I am so grateful for all of the opportunities and support I have received over the past four years on the Hilltop and I am excited for the next chapter,” she noted.
The Committee on Women’s Athletics will select the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year from a total of nine finalists. The 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced Sunday, Oct. 28, at an awards dinner in Indianapolis, Indiana.
