UCLA's Lee, Garcia Vie for Honda Cup
June 25, 2018 | Softball, Gymnastics, Bruin Athletics
Honda Sports Award winners Christine Peng-Peng Lee (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) from gymnastics and Rachel Garcia (Palmdale, Calif.) from softball are finalists for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious Honda Cup. CBS Sports Network will air the live announcement of the Honda Cup on Monday, June 25, at 6 pm PT/9 pm ET, from the USC Galen Center Founders' Room in Los Angeles, Calif. This is the third time in the last five years that UCLA has had two Honda Cup finalists.
The Honda Sports Award is presented annually by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports and signifies "the best of the best in collegiate athletics". The 12 honorees were chosen by a vote of administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools and among four finalists in each sport and one will win the Honda Cup.
Lee led UCLA to its seventh NCAA Gymnastics team title in April after a perfect performance in the team final. Needing a 9.975 on balance beam in the final rotation, Lee scored a perfect 10 to clinch the come-from-behind victory. She had recorded a perfect 10 on the uneven bars in the previous rotation. Lee also won the NCAA and Pac-12 balance beam titles and was honored as the Pac-12 Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete of the Year and as a finalist for the Honda Inspiration Award. The sixth-year senior finished her illustrious career with nine All-America awards and 10 perfect 10s, including seven in 2018.
Lee is the sixth UCLA gymnast to win the Honda Award and first since Kristen Maloney in 2005. She is also the first international gymnast ever to win.
Garcia won virtually every Player of the Year award for softball this year. In addition to the Honda Award, Garcia was named the USA Softball, NFCA, and espnW National Player of the Year. She led the Bruins' pitching staff with a 1.31 earned run average, a 29-4 record and 315 strikeouts in 208 innings while batting .339 with 11 home runs and 54 runs batted in, the latter two categories ranking second on the team. Garcia pitched in 23 of the Bruins' 27 innings at the Women's College World Series, recording 42 strikeouts, a pair of wins and three complete games.
The redshirt sophomore and USA National Team member is one of just two underclassmen who are finalists for the Honda Cup, joining sophomore cross country runner Ednah Kurgat of New Mexico. Garcia is the seventh Bruin softball player to win the Honda Award and first since 2003, when Natasha Watley went on to win the Honda Cup.
The Honda Sports Award winners for 2018 are:
Rhamat Alhassan, Volleyball (Florida)
Sam Apuzzo, Lacrosse (Boston College)
Maggie Ewen, Track & Field (Arizona State)
Rachel Garcia, Softball (UCLA)
Arianne Hartono, Tennis (Ole Miss)
Jennifer Kupcho, Golf (Wake Forest)
Ednah Kurgat, Cross Country (New Mexico)
Christine Peng-Peng Lee, Gymnastics (UCLA)
Simone Manuel, Swimming & Diving (Stanford)
Andi Sullivan, Soccer (Stanford)
Charlotte Veitner, Field Hockey (Connecticut)
A'ja Wilson, Basketball (South Carolina)
In addition to the Honda Cup being unveiled, the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Show presented by Honda will also recognize the Class of 2018 Top Three honorees, Honda Inspiration Award winner Megan Cunningham (Missouri, Track & Field/Cross Country), DII Honda Athlete of the Year Caroline Kurgat (Alaska Anchorage, Track & Field) and the DIII Honda Athlete of the Year Eudice Chong (Wesleyan, Tennis).
The CWSA, in its 42nd year, honors the nation's top NCAA women athletes recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its sponsorship in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.3 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women's athletics programs at the institutions.
Players Mentioned
