Douglass, Walsh, MacNeil, and Vazquez Nominated for 2023 Honda Sport Award for Swim/Dive
swimmer Kate Douglas (Virginia), Gretchen Walsch (Virginia), Maggie McNeil (LSU) and divers Aranza Vazquez (North Carolina) were nominated for the 2023 Honda Sport Award for Swimming and Diving by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards.
Douglass was an athletic award winner for swimming and diving last year.
The finalists were selected by the CSCAA’s “panel of experts and coaches,” with each of the more than 1,000 NCAA member schools receiving a vote to select the winner.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 37 years to the top female athletes in 12 NCAA sanctioned sports. The winner becomes a finalist for the Honda Cup presented during the live broadcast of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards in downtown LA on Monday, June 26 at 9:00 p.m. ET/6 PT on CBS Sports Network.
Swimmers have won the Honda Cup nine times in 47 years, which is the second most after basketballa:
- 2018 – Simone Manuel, Stanford
- 2017 – Katie Ledecky, Stanford
- 2015 – Missy Franklin, Cal
- 2004 – Tara Kirk, Stanford
- 2000 – Cristina Teuscher, Colombia
- 1987 – Mary T. Meagher, Cal
- 1984 – Tracy Caulkins, Fla. (tie)
- 1982 – Tracy Caulkins, Fla
- 1981 – Jill Sterkel, Texas
South Carolina basketball player Aliyah Boston last year and is competing again this year as a senior. While South Carolina is still in the hunt for an NCAA title, Boston’s stats are down a bit this year.
See all the winners of the past women’s prizes here.
Athlete Biographies Courtesy: CWSA
Douglass, a senior from Pelham, NY, received the Honda Award for Swimming & Diving for the Class of 2022 and is a two-time Honda Award finalist. Most recently, she was named CSCAA Swimmer of the Year for the second year in a row and ACC Swimmer of the Year twice. She was the consecutive winner of three individual NCAA championships (200 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 breaststroke) and helped UVA to their third straight NCAA title. All three of those wins were new NCAA records.
Also part of the Virginia National Championship team, Walsh won two individual championships (100 back, 100 free) and four relay championships en route to the title. She is an 11-time NCAA overall champion and 14-time CSCAA All-American. The sophomore from Nashville, Tennessee, has won eight ACC conference titles and is a 14-time All-ACC honoree.
MacNeil, a graduate student from London, Ontario, Canada, is a three-time Honda Award finalist, having shared the honors with the University of Michigan in 2020 and 2021. She was an individual champion of the 50 Free at the NCAA Championships and gave LSU its first national swimming champion title in school history. She is a 25-time CSCAA All-American and 14-time Conference Champion (SEC, Big Ten).
Vazquez Montano is the 2023 CSCAA Diver of the Year after winning national titles in both the 1m and 3m at the 2023 NCAA Championships. She is the first UNC athlete to win an individual championship in diving. She won the vaults at the ACC Championships and placed first in the 1m, 3m and platform jumps to earn the ACC Championships Most Outstanding Diver award.