PRINCETON, N.J. -- Former Columbia fencing national champion Iman Blow was selected as one of the 2020 Today’s Top 10 Award winners. Blow embodied the true meaning of an Ivy League student-athlete, finding success on the field, in the classroom and in the community throughout her time at Columbia.
 
Blow is the 11th Ivy League student-to earn the NCAA Today’s Top 10 Award honors and the first to do so since Yale men’s lacrosse standout Ben Reeves in 2018. Blow is the second Lions to earn this distinction from the NCAA, joining former Columbia men's fencer Jeff Spears, who earned this honor in 2011. 
 
Blow won the 2018 individual NCAA championship in women's foil and was a member of two national championship teams in 2016 and 2019. Blow was a three-time All-American and two-time all-Ivy League honoree. She also helped her team win three Ivy League Championships. She represented the United States in three Junior World Fencing Championships. She is also a member of the U.S. women's foil team, which in 2018 earned a No. 1 world ranking for the first time in history.
 
Blow, a two-time Academic All-Ivy League recipient, was a scholar in Gerald E. Thomson Undergraduate Premedical Program, which pairs premed students with mentors in the medical field and provides career exposure, development and practical experience.
 
She also spearheaded conduct training for minor athletes on the junior and cadet national fencing teams to help prevent sexual misconduct and educate athletes about resources available to them if they faced such misconduct. Her advocacy led to the creation of a Safe Sport training program for college athletes and adult members of the United States Fencing Association. Blow was also an active member of the Black Student Organization at Columbia, which offers a support system to students and addresses social and political issues that impact them.
 
The award recognizes former student-athletes for their successes on the field, in the classroom and in the community. The recipients — who completed their athletics eligibility during the 2018-19 academic year — will be recognized at the Honors Celebration on Jan. 22 during the NCAA Convention in Anaheim, California.
 
The honorees are selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, composed of representatives of NCAA member schools, conferences and distinguished citizens, including past awardees.
 
2020 NCAA Top 10 Recipients
Jimmy Bendeck, Baylor (men’s tennis)
Iman Blow, Columbia (women’s fencing)
Virginia Elena Carta, Duke (women’s golf)
 Kaitlin Hatch, West Chester of Penn (field hockey)
Kirby Hora, Augustana (football)
Cassandra Laios, Case Western Reserve (track & field)
Hannah Orbach-Mandel, Kenyon (swimming)
Kristin Quah, Vanderbilt (bowling)
Anton Stephenson, Nebraska (men’s gymnastics)
Ginny Thrasher, West Virginia (rifle)