Sophomore swimming standout Kinsey Brooks has been named as the 2021-22 University of Mary Washington Female Athlete of the Year.

Brooks, swimming in her first collegiate season in 2021-22, gained three first team All-America honors at the NCAA Division III Championships in Indianapolis in March. She gained top-eight finishes at nationals in the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke, as well as the 200 yard individual medley, becoming the second Mary Washington female swimmer to achieve three top-eight finishes in any NCAA Championship.

She finished seventh in the 200 IM, with a time of 2:02.71, after swimming 2:02.32 in the morning preliminaries. She then finished seventh in the 100 yard breaststroke, at 1:02.90, and capped her championship by placing seventh in the 200 breaststroke, at 2:16.13. Her 36 points scored placed her among the team top 20 in the final standings.

Prior to nationals, Brooks claimed the Metro Swimming Conference Female Swimmer and Rookie of the Year, as Mary Washington claimed the team championship, marking the squad's 31st consecutive conference crown.

The school's record holder in the 50, 100, and 200 yard breaststroke, as well as the 200 IM, Brooks was a three-time individual champion at the Metro Championships, as well as a member of two winning relays. She is the holder of the school freshman records in the 50 free, 100 free, 50 breast, 100 breast, 200 breast, 50 butterfly, and 200 IM.

"Kinsey is in one of the most challenging majors at UMW, Nursing, and still manages to balance her hours in clinicals, driving to Germanna, all while meeting the obligations and commitments of her sport at the highest level. She is an incredibly hard worker in the pool and weight room, and is one of the best swimmers in all of Division III. She is crucial contributor to our team's dual meet and championship success and was a major contributor to our teams first Metropolitan Collegiate Swimming and Diving Conference Championship title."

-UMW Head Swimming Coach Justin Anderson