2008-2009 Gymnastics Honda Sports Award Nominees:
Courtney Kupets – University of Georgia
Kristina Baskett – University of Utah
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney – Louisiana State University
Jessica López – University of Denver
ACK won gold on Floor and Vault at NCAA Championships 2009
Honda honours the most outstanding female collegiate athletes in the nation with the Collegiate Women Sports Awards.
Winners are selected in each of the 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports by a panel of more than 1,000 NCAA administrators. (Not partially by online fan balloting as is done with the now discredited Sullivan Award.)
All 4 fantastic gymnasts are Seniors. We’ve seen their final routines.
Perhaps Jessica López will continue to compete internationally for her native Venezuela. I certainly hope so.
Watch an interview with ACK on Gymnastike after winning 2 NCAA Titles.
7 comments ↓
Rick I’m still confused as to why you say the Sullivan Awards are discredited? What is your reasoning? Shawn deserved the award as much as Nastia or anyone else.
I originally thought the Sullivan was for the TOP female athlete. I was wrong.
It’s partly a “People’s Choice” award now.
Courtney Kupets will win the Honda award. No doubt. She’s the TOP female Collegiate gymnast.
I hope they never add online fan balloting to choose the Honda.
Rick, yes, part of the award is people’s choices but it’s not all of it. Most of the award is still voted on the qualities put forth by the committee and they felt Shawn fit that award.
I’m so over Kupets (was before the 04 olympics as well). I personally think Baskett should win.
Shawn kicks Nastia’s ass. Nastia can’t do a double back and can’t do anything more than a FUGLY UB dismount. She is just a prop for the Russians and for the fashionistas. She’s why all my friends say gym is not a sport. And have a point…
I hope baskett or kerny take it!
Admittedly biased, I believe Ashleigh Clare-Kearney should win the award. Of the four finalists, she has the most individual event titles during her collegiate career at 115. This shows that she was “on” her game week-in and week-out in the Nation’s toughest gymnastics conference.
This by no means takes anything away from the other three ladies. All are deserving and the committee would do well to award the Honda Sports Award to any one of them.
Actually Courtney Kupets has more that 115 event titles. This was mentioned much earlier on the college gymnastics board site. On the UGA athletic site, it has listed her total event titles as of last year. Then, if you count up the titles she has one this year, it exceeds 115. In fact, she probably holds that record as well
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