Sophomore Celine Boutier (Montrouge, France) of Duke University was named the Honda Sports Award winner for Women's Golf 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”. With this honor, Boutier becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2014 Honda Cup. Boutier was chosen by a vote of administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Finalists included Doris Chen (USC), Annie Park (USC) and Alison Lee (UCLA).
The Honda Cup winner will be announced during the live telecast of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards show presented by Honda at 8 pm EST, on Monday, June 30, at the USC Founders Club at Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif.
“It is an honor to be selected as the winner of the prestigious Honda Award for golf,” said Boutier. “There have been many outstanding golfers who have won this award over the years and to have my name on the same list as them is very special. I want to thank my coaches and teammates for all their support during this amazing season as this would not be possible without them.”
Named the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) National Player of the Year after leading Duke to the national title, the WGCA first-team All-American registered a 71.50 stroke average, three victories, six top five finishes and seven top 10 placements on the year.
Boutier was the hottest golfer in the nation during the spring posting three wins and a 70.77 stroke average in seven tournaments. The ACC Player of the Year led Duke on the season with 20 rounds of even or under par, including seven rounds in the 60s.
She carded a 616-37 head-to-head record in the spring against the best teams in the nation and collected her first three collegiate victories at the Bryan National Collegiate, PING/ASU Invitational and the ACC Championship. Boutier finished runner-up at the NCAA Championship, marking the second straight top-four placement in the final tournament of the season.
“I was excited to see that Celine had won the Honda Sport Award,” Duke head coach Dan Brooks said. “She had a great season, particularly the final, spring tournaments. I was happy the committee recognized the importance of finishing strong.”
“To be sure, Celine Boutier is the epitome of what a student-athlete should be, “ stated Duke Vice President and Director of Athletics, Kevin White. The Honda Award, voted upon by administrators at NCAA institutions, caps an incredible month for Celine. After leading Duke to its sixth NCAA Championship in women’s golf and placing second individually at the tournament, she was named the WGCA National Player of the Year. This is the sixth time in Duke history that a Blue Devil golfer has won the Honda Award, a testament to the outstanding culture built by head coach Dan Brooks and his staff. There is no one more deserving of this prestigious honor than Celine. We are incredibly proud of her efforts on and away from the golf course.”
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.