Nuhfer Named MAC Nominee for 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year Award

AKRON, Ohio – University of Akron ladies’s swimmer Grace Nuhfer was chosen because the Mid-American Conference nominee for the 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, together with Ball State’s observe and subject athlete, Jenelle Rogers, the league introduced on Monday.

The NCAA’s Woman of the Year Selection Committee will announce the Top 30 finalists in October from all the conference-level nominees.

Nuhfer graduated from the University of Akron in May 2025 with a 3.77 GPA. The four-year member of the Zips Swimming and Diving program was named to the All-MAC Academic Team the previous three seasons whereas being named to the CSC Academic All-District Team in 2025.

Nuhfer, a local of Greenwood, Ind., was born with Brittle Cornea Syndrome, a kind of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome characterised by corneal thinning and unfastened ligaments in joints. An energetic baby who cherished sports activities, Nuhfer started swimming competitively on the age of seven. She was a precious member for the Akron swimming and diving program and continued to make her mark within the sport by incomes a spot on the United States Paralympic workforce.

As a Para swimmer, Nuhfer set a number of information and earned a spot on the US Paralympic workforce for the 2024 Paralympic video games in Paris. Along with competing on the Paris Paralympics, Nuhfer represented Team USA at quite a few occasions, together with the Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile, incomes a silver medal.

At the Paris Paralympics, Nuhfer took Silver within the 100 Fly with a time of 1:03.88, ending simply .61 seconds behind the highest time. She additionally competed within the 100 Back, 50 Free and 200 IM for Team USA. She turned the primary Paralympian to characterize the Akron Blue and Gold, and simply the third American to compete in any Olympic occasion for Akron.

In 2024-2025, she broke the S13 file within the 200 Fly with a time of two:22.78, eclipsing the earlier file of two:24.07, on the TYR Pro Swim Series on April 5, 2025.

The earlier S13 200 fly world-record holder was Italy’s Carlotta Gilli, who posted a time of two:24.07 in 2018. Gilli additionally gained the gold medal within the S13 100 fly (1:03.27), ending simply forward of Nuhfer.

Nuhfer additionally set the S13 file within the 100 Fly with a time of 56.65, breaking her personal file of 56.85, which she set on the MAC Championships in 2024.

On Sunday, May 25, 2025, Nuhfer was named the Lake Erie Para Athlete of the Year.