Writers Picks: Best Of 2015 In Women's Athletics.

Top 10 By Kyle Wescott

2015 was a year full of firsts and amazing feats in women’s sports. I have carefully sifted through the great plays, the great upsets, and the record breakers of 2015 to come up with a top 10. This list is in no way complete, there were at least another 20 events that I had written down before narrowing the list down. I hope to explain why these top 10 were deserving to be some of the best moments in women’s sports this year.

#10 Syracuse (20-1) wins 1st ever NCAA Field Hockey National Championship

Syracuse Field Hockey was unstoppable in 2015 except for one 2-1 overtime loss to the University of North Carolina Tarheels during the regular season. So it was only fitting that the Orangemen would have to beat the Tarheels in the National Title game to win their first ever national title. The ultimate obstacle to overcome in the ultimate game, one of the greatest storylines of the year. Syracuse jumped on top early with a goal just 9 minutes into the game and another one at the 19 minute mark. The Orangemen would go on to score 2 more in the second half to withstand the Tarheels 2 goals as well to win 4-2 and avenge their only loss of the season.

#9 Inbee Park and Lydia Ko dominate the LPGA tour

Two names dominated the LPGA tour this year Lydia Ko and Inbee Park. It was a shock this year if one of the two didn’t win a tournament in 2015. Park won 5 tournaments this year, including the Women’s British Open, which completed her career grand slam, and she won the Women’s PGA Championship for the third straight time. Ko also won 5 tournaments this year, including the Evian Championship. Ko became the youngest player, male or female, to be the #1 ranked player in the world at the age of 17 years, 9 months. Ko was also named the LPGA Rolex Player of the Year. It’s great to see tough competition and we all will be watching Park and Ko continue to battle in 2016.

#8 Lindsey Vonn becomes winningest Female ski racer in World Cup history

Lindsey Vonn has made a name for herself as a great alpine skier. This year she became the World’s greatest. Vonn battled injuries in 2014 and had to pull out of the Olympics in Sochi. Vonn stormed back in 2015 though with the comeback performance of the year. In January Vonn tied Annemarie Moser-Proell for the most World Cup wins in history with 63. 63 was only the beginning of 2015 for Vonn, she finished the 2014-2015 season winning the season title in Downhill and Super-G, giving her 19 overall season titles to tie Ingemar Stenmark for the most overall season titles in history. Starting the 2015-2016 season Vonn again had to comeback from injury, as she broke her ankle training in August. Vonn came back strong again winning 3 races at Lake Louise, Canada and also won the Giant Slalom in Are, Sweeden.

#7 Elena Delle Donne receives 38 of 39 first place votes to win WNBA MVP

Elena Delle Donne carried the Chicago Sky on her back this year, scoring 23.4 points per game, pulling down 8.4 rebounds per game and shooting 95% from the free throw line. With 38 of 39 first place votes, the league took notice at how dominating Elena was in 2015. Delle Donne and the Chicago Sky finished 2nd in the East, but lost to the Indiana Fever in the Conference Semifinals. Delle Donne led her team in scoring 24 of their 34 games.

#6 Nebraska (32-4) wins NCAA Volleyball title in home state

To start the 2015 NCAA volleyball season, the Championship tournament was looming over the Nebraska Cornhuskers as it was set for Omaha Nebraska, just 55 miles away from their campus. Nebraska battled all season long in the grueling Big Ten Conference, losing the Big Ten title to Minnesota. In the NCAA tournament, the Cornhuskers would again have to battle through BYU, Washington, Kansas and Texas to win the National Title. In the Championship game Nebraska would have to defeat the Texas Longhorns who had beaten the Cornhuskers early in the year. In front of the largest Volleyball crowds ever to watch an American volleyball match, Nebraska dominated Texas in a 3-0 sweep to win the National Title. Led by the great defense of the Rolfzen twins and Cecilia Hall, the Cornhuskers shut down all of the Longhorns offensive options.

#5 Holm knocks out Rousey

“Rowdy” Ronda Rousey, the 3 year reigning UFC Bantamweight champion, had become one of the most recognizable names and a great marketing tool for the UFC. She had already put out a book, had been on the cover of multiple magazines and was named one of the two people on the cover of the UFC 2016 video game. Rousey was an Olympic bronze medalist in Judo and 12-0 in her professional MMA career with 11 1st round stoppages, it looked like she couldn’t be beaten. Melbourne Australia hosted UFC 193, a Women co-headlined card in front of 56,000 people and the 3rd most bought UFC pay per view in history. Rousey would face off against Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm who was 33-2 in her Pro Boxing career and 10-0 in her MMA career. Holm was thought to be a huge underdog in the fight. Holm, however, threw vicious punches in the first round and left the Champ Rousey stunned to be headed to a second round. Holm gave the winning blow with a head kick, knocking out Rousey and ending the fight. The win by Holm was one of the biggest upsets in MMA history and the biggest upset of 2015. Holm became the first person to win a Championship in boxing and an MMA.

#4 Serena Williams continues to dominate the tennis world

Serena Williams was once again the #1 ranked player in the world for all of 2015. Serena won her 6th Australian open, her 3rd French open, and her 6th Wimbledon. Williams became the 8th person to win 700 career matches and she is the only player to win all 4 major events after the age of 30. In 2015 Serena was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year, WTA Player of the Year for the 7th time, and AP Female Athlete of the Year. Her lone setback to keep her out of the top 3 in 2015 was in the US Open in a shocking upset to Roberta Vinci, but that doesn’t erase all Serena accomplished this season.

#3 UConn Women’s basketball wins 3rd straight NCAA national title

The UConn Huskies finished the 2014 basketball season with back to back national titles, but lost Bria Hartley and Stefanie Dolson to the WNBA. The UConn Women’s basketball team proved it is still the best in the country in 2015 even without the two stars. The Huskies haven’t lost in 2015, with only the #5 Maryland Terrapins left on the schedule. Not only haven’t they lost, but they’ve won every game in 2015 by at least 10 points. The Huskies won their 3rd straight national championship in April of 2015 with a 10 point win over their rivals the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Breanna Stewart has emerged as the star for the Huskies in their continued success. In 2015, Stewart won her second straight National Player of the Year Award.

#2 US Women’s National Soccer team wins World Cup, Wambach retires

2015 saw the end of the career of Abby Wambach, the leading goal scorer (184 goals) in US Women’s team history. However 2015 saw much more celebration than sadness for the US Women’s team. They finished the year with 20 wins and only 2 losses including winning the Women’s World Cup in Canada. The US came in with the #2 FIFA world ranking and beat the #1 ranked Germany in the semifinals 2-0, before facing off against Japan in the Finals, the #4 ranked and a foe that the US lost to in the 2011 World Cup. The Women's soccer World Cup was viewed by 750 million viewers and 45 million viewers worldwide watched the Finals match. Carli Lloyd was the star of the World Cup, Lloyd scored in the round of 16 match against Colombia, scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over China, scored in the semifinal against Germany and scored three goals in 16 minutes in the World Cup Final 5-2 win over Japan.

#1 NWHL begins its first season with 4 teams

Canada has had professional women’s hockey for about 15 years beginning with the NWHL of Canada beginning in 1999. Then the Western Women’s hockey league was in operation from 2004-2011. The Canadian Women’s hockey League began when the NWHL folded and still is in operation today. The CWHL did more to financially run the league and cover the cost for teams of travel, facility usage, and uniforms. However, none of those leagues paid its athletes. The National Women’s Hockey League began in 2015 with 4 teams, all based in the Northeast of the US; Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, New York Riveters. The NWHL became the first US based Professional Women’s Hockey league and the first to pay its players. The first draft pick of the newly formed league was Boston College graduate Alex Carpenter. The first game was a sold out game between the New York Riveters and the Connecticut Whale on October 11, 2015. The NWHL signed a television contract to broadcast all Boston Pride games on NESN, then signed with ESPN to have games broadcast on ESPN3. The league has signed a sponsor deal with Dunkin Donuts. The initiation of a professional hockey league that pays its players and is already rumoring expansion is a great thing for professional women’s sports and a move towards equality in sports.

Kyle's Honorable Mention

- Minnesota Lynx win 3rd championship in 5 years 3-2 over Indiana Fever led by game winning 3 pointer in game 3 by Maya Moore.

- Jessica Mendoza becomes first woman to calls MLB Playoff game

- Chicago Bandits win NPF Championship; Monica Abbott dominates all year

- Penn State wins 1st Soccer national title

Top 10 By Luis Sanchez

#10 Michelle Betos scores a header for Portland in Extra Time.

With the clock counting down and her side trailing 1-0, Portland Thorns shot-stopper Michelle Betos raced up the other end to offer an extra attacking option during the National Women’s Soccer League clash with FC Kansas City. It proved worthwhile, with Betos throwing herself at a corner and scoring a stunning diving header in extra time. Watch

#9 FC Kansas City (NWSL) and Pittsburgh Passion (IWFL) Repeat as Champions

FCKC - For the second consecutive year the Seattle Reign and FC Kansas City would meet in the final again. Last year FCKC would take the championship in what some would say was an upset of a really strong Reign team. This year the favorite was FCKC and after some great goal keeping the Blues would take a 1-0 win over Seattle again in the NWSL Championship.

Pittsburgh Passion - Dominate all year long, their toughest test on the season was in the finals against the undefeated Utah Falconz. The Passion would jump out to an early lead but had to weather a Falconz comeback. Pittsburgh would hold on to win and claim the IWFL Championship.

#8 Chicago Bandits Defeat USSSA Pride - Monica Abbott Performance.

The Chicago Bandits got some redemption in 2015 by sweeping the defending champion, USSSA Pride, in the National Pro FastPitch Championship. All season long Abbott provided shut down numbers against the opposition and in the finals she did the same. In game one, Abbott would throw seven scoreless innings while striking out five and only walking two batters. In game two Monica would again pitch a scoreless seven inning game, she strikeout eight and none better than the last out of the game. Abbott went 2-0 in the postseason only giving up four hits in the series with an 0.00 ERA. Dominate by Monica Abbott.

#7 Lydia Ko and Inbee Park Dominate LPGA Season

Lydia Ko and Inbee Park were two players to watch this past LPGA season, they were impressive and battled each other for most of the year. It came down to the last weekend and the CME Group Tour Championship. Lydia Ko would claim the Rolex Player of the Year during the Torunament but Lydia Ko would take the overall #1 ranking and be named CME Group Player of the Year. She is the youngest of any person man or woman to be ranked #1. This was a great year for Ko as she continues to impress those who follow the game. While Inbee Park keeps adding to a Hall of Fame career.

#6 Minnesota Lynx Win Third Championship in Five Years - Maya Moore GWG 3-pointer

The Minnesota Lynx came in playing some great ball, the Indiana Fever we sort of a cinderella story with Tamika Catchings leading the way. In a twist the Fever would come back to Indiana tied 1-1 with the Lynx and a chance to take control of the series... well that was until Maya Moore decided to solidfy her place as one of the greats...The Lynx would win game three on a thrilling play but Moore, and that would give the Lynx control of the series again. The Lynx and Fever would go to a game five and the Lynx would dominate on to their third championship in five years! WATCH PLAY

#5 Jessica Mendoza Calls MLB Playoff Game for ESPN

Jessica Mendoza made history by becoming the first female to call a nationally televised MLB playoff game on October 6, 2015 for the American League Wild Card Game. A few months prior, she became the first female ESPN MLB game analyst on the August 24, 2015 edition of Monday Night Baseball. Later that week, Mendoza became the first female Sunday Night Baseball analyst. On September 4, 2015, ESPN announced that she would serve as a game analyst on Sunday Night Baseball for the remainder of the regular-season. Breaking Barriers!!

#4 Holly Holms Knocksout "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey in UFC 193

The former world champion boxer, Holly Holm (10-0) knocked out Ronda Rousey with a high left head kick in the second round of a UFC female bantamweight title fight on Nov. 14. She did it before a UFC-record crowd of 56,214 at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, and she did it as a more than 8-to-1 betting underdog. Rousey came out more aggressive than usual and it proved costly as Holms kick would connect and drop Ronda to the mat. This was in my opinion the biggest upset of the year!

#3 Founding of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL)

On April 8, 2015, The first-ever all women’s professional paid hockey league, the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL), officially sets to debut in October of 2015. Former Northeastern University hockey player and Commissioner of the NWHL, Dani Rylan set out to create the first paid professional women’s hockey league in North America. The league will operate on income from sponsors as well as the NWHL Foundation, a charitable arm that will spread awareness about women’s hockey through grassroots efforts. The NWHL will start with four teams and plans to expand the league with additional teams and locations across North America. The founding four teams are the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale and New York Riveters. A paid women's hockey league has to be top three right? Congrats NWHL

#2 Serena Williams Upset at US Open, SI Sportsman of the Year & AP Female Athlete of the Year.

Serena Williams won the Australian Open on hard courts in January, the French Open on red clay in June, and Wimbledon on grass in July, before losing in the U.S. Open semifinals in September in one of the biggest upsets in the sport's history. Williams went 53-3 with a WTA tour-leading five titles and was ranked No. 1 every week. She raised her Grand Slam singles trophy count to 21; only two women have won more. This was a great year for Williams to silence the critics and she continues to play at a higher level than most in the WTA. She was named SI Sportsman of the Year and recently named AP Female Athlete of the Year. It is know doubt Williams will be in the Hall of Fame, the questions is will she go in with every record in Women's tennis.

And Now for the #1 Moment!!!

#1 Abby Wambach Retires, USA Wins FIFA World Cup - Carli Lloyd Dominance

Yes, we will miss Abby Wambah, and who knows when the next time the US women's team can pull off as impressive a run as they did in the 2015 FIFA World Cup in Canada. However, Their is a lot to take from this historic year in women's soccer. The end of the career of Abby Wambach, the leading goal scorer (184 goals) in US Women’s team history will be one that sticks out but lets celebrate what she created. The US finished the year with 20 wins and only 2 losses including winning the Women’s FIFA World Cup in Canada. The US came in with the #2 FIFA world ranking and beat the #1 ranked Germany in the semifinals 2-0, Carli Lloyd again on the world stage was phenomenal. With the Win the stage was set for Japan in the Finals, the #4 ranked team and rival US lost to in the 2011 World Cup. The Women's FIFA World Cup was viewed by 750 million viewers and 45 million viewers worldwide watched the Finals match. Carli Lloyd was the star of the World Cup, Lloyd scored in the round of 16 match against Colombia, scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over China, scored in the semifinal against Germany and scored three goals in 16 minutes in the World Cup Final 5-2 win over Japan. This was and will be the greatest moment of 2015. The combination of what this team has done on and off the field to grow the game only gives me more reason to put them at #1!