Firstly, all Alabama athletes and staff are safe after the recent tornado in Tuscaloosa. That’s a relief.
Alabama senior Kayla Hoffman has won the 2011 Honda Sports Award in gymnastics, given annually to the nation’s top collegiate female gymnast.
The Honda Sports Award is given annually to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports, along with automatic eligibility to become a “Top Three” finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. Hoffman was voted over three other nominees for the 2011 award: Michigan senior Kylee Botterman, UCLA senior Brittani McCullough, and Penn State sophomore Sharaya Musser. …
We might be surprised that the NCAA Champion Kylee Botterman didn’t get it. Personally I’m happy to see Kylee share the wealth.
See Kayla’s Gymnastike interview.
The Honda Award is based on the results of national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of The Collegiate Women Sports Awards program, now in its 35th year
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. has sponsored The Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program for 26 consecutive years. Honda has donated over $2 million in grants and sponsorships to universities over the course of the program.
… She was named the 2011 SEC Gymnast of the Year and the SEC Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete of the Year, becoming the first in league history to win both in the same season …
Sharaya Musser has quite the back story:
… on Sharaya’s 16th birthday, Jan. 26, 2007, the young gymnast got a Staph infection, with the bacteria Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus putting her in the hospital for 10 days and doctors giving her a 20 percent chance of survival. …
She’s still affected to this day.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 