ATLANTA, GA – When anyone thinks of Coach John Wooden, of UCLA men's basketball, they instantly think of his greatness in winning 10 National Championships from 1964 until 1975 and they think of his character of giving. Athletes for a Better World (ABW) founded the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup in 2005 and in its 15^th year of existence, Alfred University women's volleyball's own, Elisabeth Estep (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) is one of four finalist that have a chance to claim the cup.
 
"The feeling of this announcement is beyond anything I can describe. Coach John Wooden is argued to be the best of the best and this award is something that only one person in all of NCAA can receive; so hearing that Ibby [Estep] has been marked as a finalist is such a huge honor," Head Coach Dakota 'Dak' Pruiss said. "She is one of the most impactful people our program has ever had and she has personally changed my life for the better. Her teammates and our staff have the utmost respect for Ibby because she is a living example of the success someone can have from not only trying their hardest but by taking advantage at every opportunity life has to offer. I am so proud that her work ethic is being acknowledged on such a national platform. She is truly deserving of this!"
 
The Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup is an award given to the most outstanding role models among athletes. Coach Wooden is highly decorated and celebrated as 'one of the finest human beings to ever grace the world of sports as his character, conduct and selfless gifts stand at the highest level by any standard' (ABW Press Release). The Cup is presented to one professional or Olympic athlete, one female high school athlete, one male high school athlete and one collegiate athlete. The award is a physical representation of the Student-Athlete's character and leadership both on and off the field.
 
""I am absolutely ecstatic that the Wooden Citizenship Cup committee has recognized the incredible accomplishments of Elisabeth [Estep] in making her a finalist for this incredibly prestigious award," Alfred University Athletic Director Paul Vecchio said. "Given my own affinity for the values and accomplishments of John Wooden – and given the incredible competition for this award amongst all Divisions of collegiate athletics – this accomplishment surely ranks amongst the highest honors a Saxon Student-Athlete has ever received. I could not be more proud of Elisabeth who has simply been a difference maker of the highest caliber since the day she stepped foot on the Alfred University campus."
 
'Ibby' Estep is a four-year varsity starter for the Alfred University women's volleyball team. She began at Alfred University in the Fall of 2015 after graduating from Horseheads High School in Horseheads, NY, just over an hour east of Alfred, NY. Estep immediately established herself as the Saxons' starting libero during her first year on the team.
 
During her time on the court, Estep has accumulated 1,374 digs, 118 aces, 110 kills and 235.5 points. In her senior season, Estep was asked to move from a defensive specialist and a libero role, to that of an outside hitter. As she moved to the front line, she immediately made an impact. In her new position, Estep totaled 78 kills.
 
Although she proved to be a valuable member of the Alfred University women's volleyball team, both as a player and a leader as she was team captain this past season, Estep excelled in her academics and other on-campus activities. She will graduate from Alfred University in the Spring of 2019 with her Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in biology and minoring in both Spanish and chemistry. She also has a pre-health concentration as she aspires to go into the dental field after post-graduate schooling. She has a current GPA of 3.98 and has made the Dean's List and the Empire 8 President's List every semester throughout her career.
 
Estep, during her time as a Saxon, has amassed an armory of academic honors. Presented below is the list of honors:
-           Honors Program
-           Phi Beta Kappa Academic Honor Society
-           Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Honor Society
-           Phi Kappa Phi Academic Honor Society
-           Phi Sigma Iota Foreign Language Honor Society
-           Chi Alpha Sigma Student-Athlete Honor Society
-           2017 Diana Mossip Memorial Scholarship Recipient
-           2017 Resident Assistant Rookie of the Year
-           2018 Resident Assistant of the Year
-           2018 Alpha Kappa Omicron Social Change Leadership Award
-           Published in the Phi Sigma Iota's Spring 2018 Magazine (The Forum)
            o          Article titled "A Psychoanalytical Criticism of Resguardo Personal"
-           Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grant Recipient
            o          Studied at Universitas Castellae in Valladolid, Spain in 2017
            o          Intensive Summer Program in Spanish history, culture and conversation
-           Graduate of the LEAD Athletic Program at Alfred University
o          Participated in athletics-related workshops to improve leadership skills on and off of the court
-           Recipient of the Empire 8 Athletic Conference Sportsmanship Award all four years of her collegiate participation
 
While attending Alfred University, Estep has been a part of Residence Life since the Fall of 2016. As a Resident Assistant, she has taken on duties such as: guiding residents in making connections and adjustments to university life; developing and creating events; organizing hall meetings and hosting community builders for her 79 residents in corridor-style living, and finally, prioritizing the safety of Alfred University residents while also submitting incident and care reports as necessary.
 
Estep had also taken on the role as a Supplemental Instruction Leader in Alfred University's Biology 150 class. She had been in that position since her sophomore year and ended in the Spring semester of her junior year. Her duties in that role included her attending class time and hosting sessions available to 90 students who desired to receive additional assistance on materials while also hosting study group sessions to assist students with prepping for midterms and final exams each semester.
 
Estep was also an attendee of the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum held in Washington, D.C. in November of 2017. She was selected to represent Alfred University at the leadership forum alongside over 300 additional student-athletes from across the nation on all NCAA Divisional levels. Estep participated in character-building activities which guided personal leadership philosophies and strength-based leadership growth with the CliftonStrengths Assessment.
 
Estep founded and is the current President of the Alfred University Pre-Health Club. She started the on-campus club in the Fall of 2017 and still currently presides over all club meeting's and still establishes agendas to keep the meetings organized and on-track. Her more hands-on responsibility is to coordinate events with the officers, advisors and guest speakers while also serving as a connection between the health sciences department and the student body at Alfred University. Currently, Estep is organizing a Red Cross Campus Blood Drive to happen in January alongside of the Pre-Health Club.
 
A 2017 graduate of the Women's Leadership Academy Cohort XI in which she attended for the entire 2016-17 academic year, Estep gained knowledge in the field of feminism and leadership growth in a cohort culture of 12 women students. Estep also organized the day-long "Take the Leading Role" Performing Arts & Leadership Conference made up of three breakout workshop blocks on dance, music and theater. She also organized a career perspective panel as a capstone project that year as well.
 
As a member of the Alfred University women's volleyball team, Estep (as mentioned above in the Honors List) earned the Empire 8 Sportsmanship Award for all four years of varsity play. That means, that between her two coaches she played for, they believed that she "exhibited outstanding sportsmanship in keeping with the conference's mission of competing with honor and integrity and playing for the love of the game" all four years of being a Saxon. She also traveled with her teammates to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua during the Summer of 2016 in which they played a couple of matches but also, volunteered their services. Estep and her fellow Saxons mentored young adults who lived with various disabilities at the "Manos Unidas" foundation. They also aided a bilingual children's school of 4-12 year olds by reading books and playing games for their daily lesson. Estep and her teammates, over the years, have also volunteered with the City of Hornell Humane Society and have helped run the City of Hornell YMCA Kids Night Out events.
 
Estep is an Advisory Board Member for the Honors Program at Alfred University as well as a member of the Symphonic Orchestra, playing the string bass.
 
While clearly being a valuable member of the Saxons, Estep has made an impact on her teammates, current and prior:
 
"Ibby [Estep] is one of the most amazing people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Her leadership skills on and off of the volleyball court are beyond spectacular," Heather D'Andrea '18 (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst Prep) said. "She is caring, meticulous, funny, smart and most importantly, genuine. Her role in so many different leadership positions at Alfred University shows just how amazing of a person she really is. I am blessed to be able to call her one of my friends."
 
""Elisabeth Estep is the player that every coach, teammate and opponent wants," Mikala McCartney '20 (Buffalo, NY/St. Mary's) said. "Not only does she excel in anything she puts her mind to on and off the court, she does anything she can to enable others to succeed. She is always willing to do what most don't want to do, and does it with a smile."
 
""I would have to say Ibby [Estep] has always been a constant and steady force on the court," Sarah Raeman '21 (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua) said. "She's the one that you could look to when the game was getting rough and you would know it would be okay and we could bounce back. On the other hand, if the game was great, you could look to her and just feed off her energy to get you more excited.  Ibby was the one that you could look to when you didn't know what to do or didn't know how to act, and she would show you how just by example. As for off the court, she would always be the last to leave the gym, locker room, parking lot, or wherever in order to make sure that everything was all set and nobody was left behind."
 
The three other finalist that join Estep for the Coach Wooden Citizenship Award are all NCAA Division I Student-Athletes. They are:
Abigail Abel, Purdue University
Nathan Clayberg, Drake University
Malani Lee, University of South Florida
 
 
The Semifinalists were:
Nicholas Ang, Wayne State University – NCAA Division II
Daniel Boshart, Peru State College - NAIA
Lidia Breen, Lehigh University – NCAA Division I
Kenneth Brinson, U. S. Military Academy, West Point – NCAA Division I
Kelly Campbell, DePaul University – NCAA Division I
Joshua Casher, University of Alabama – NCAA Division I
Cierra Couch, Kentucky State University – NCAA Division II
Erin Egan, Daemon College – NCAA Division II
Julia Hays, University of Delaware – NCAA Division I
Ben Harris, King University – NCAA Division II
Caleb Kelly, University of Oklahoma – NCAA Division I
Patrick Laird, University of California, Berkeley – NCAA Division I
Terrence Mann, Florida State University – NCAA Division I
Emily Miller, Roberts Wesleyan College – NCAA Division II
Nate Renfro, University of San Francisco – NCAA Division I
Travis Russell, Ferris State University – NCAA Division II
Caitlin Sorensen, Menlo College - NAIA
Amanda Thompson, Mercer University – NCAA Division I
Jake Thompson, Western Wyoming Community College - NJCAA
Sam Toney, New Jersey City University – NCAA Division III
Drew Tranquill, University of Notre Dame – NCAA Division I
Tracy Van, University of California, Riverside – NCAA Division I
Brittany Ward, University of Missouri – NCAA Division I
Marcus Weymiller, University of Northern Iowa – NCAA Division I
Grant Williams, University of Tennessee – NCAA Division I
Jessica Wollmann, Radford University – NCAA Division I
 
The four finalist will attend the 2019 awards ceremony in Atlanta, GA sometime this spring with an official date and time to be announced. The Master of Ceremonies will be Bob Ryan, a known sportswriter for the Boston Globe and analyst for ESPN.
 
About Athletes for a Better World:
Founded in 1998, Athletes for a Better World (ABW) exists to change the culture of sport by developing individual character, teamwork, and civic responsibility through commitment to the Code for Living. ABW's vision is to have the Code become a part of every sport at every level, so that it becomes the common language and standard expectation of behavior for everyone. ABW provides resources to coaches and athletes across the country who want to teach and live out these values. "The Code for Living" can be found on playing fields, locker rooms and athletic facilities across the country. Currently, ABW players and coaches are represented in every state and several foreign countries. More at www.abw.org.