NEW ORLEANS - UC San Diego's Linda Rainwater was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Women's Field Athlete of the Year for the West Region, it was announced on Monday.

A senior from Goleta, Calif., Rainwater will compete in the high jump at the NCAA National Championships this week after setting the school record in the event earlier this season. She cleared 5'10.5" at the Mt. SAC/California Invitational Heptathlon in April and heads to Charlotte as the national co-leader in the field.

Rainwater also set a program standard with 5,333 points in the heptathlon at the meet, a total that ranks third in Division II this season. An injury will keep her out of the heptathlon at the Championships this week. She won the national title in the event in 2008.

Rainwater will be looking to defend her title in the high jump after winning the event with a mark of 5'9.75" in San Angelo, Texas last season.

The NCAA Championships get underway Thursday at Johnson C. Smith University's Irwin Belk Track Complex. For a complete list of UCSD's entrants, click here.