Nominees Announced for 2014 Honda Sport Award for Women's Tennis

Nominees Announced for 2014 Honda Sport Award for Women's Tennis

Lynn Chi of California, Danielle Collins from the University of Virginia, North Carolina's Jamie Loeb and Robin Anderson of UCLA are the four nominees for the Honda Sports Award for women's tennis as announced by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) today.

The Honda Sports Award is presented annually by the CWSA to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics”. The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2014 Honda Cup. The nominees were chosen by their NCAA Championship finish and final rankings.

The Honda Sports award winner for tennis will be announced later this week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.

Chi was the runner-up at the NCAA Singles Championship and ranked 24th nationally in Division I. The sophomore from Weston, Fla., finished the season with a team-high 38 singles wins and won five straight matches in NCAA singles play over four higher-ranked opponents before falling in the title match. She earned ITA All-America honors for her singles performance.

Danielle Collins, a sophomore from St. Petersburg, Fla., captured the 2014 NCAA Singles Championship title as the first Virginia women's player in school history to advance past the NCAA round of 16. The victory earned her ITA All-America recognition and her 37 singles wins on the season rank second all-time at UVA in a single-season.

Loeb, an ITA All-American and the ITA National Rookie of the Year, was the top singles seed in the NCAA Championship and is the No. 1 ranked player in the country. The freshman closed the season with a 53-4 record setting a new mark for wins at UNC. A native of Ossining, N.Y., she was named the ACC Player of the year and All-ACC first team.

Anderson was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year while ranking second in the nation in singles and No. 1 nationally as part of her doubles team. The junior from Matawan, N.J., helped lead UCLA to the NCAA title this year posting victories in both singles and doubles. She was named the NAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player and completed her season with a 34-6 singles record.

The CWSA presents the Honda Sports Award annually to top women student-athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports. Honda Sports award winners will be presented with the honor during on-campus presentations throughout the year and all Honda Sports award winners become a finalist for the prestigious 2014 Honda Cup award presented in June.

THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for 37 years, 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 $2.8 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs at the institutions.