Eudice Chong, a senior from Wesleyan University, was named the 2018 DIII Honda Athlete of the Year nominee for Tennis as announced by Executive Director Chris Voelz of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda. This is the fourth-straight year Chong was honored with the nomination.
Chong is now designated one of 11 finalists for the prestigious DIII Honda Woman Athlete of the Year. This will be voted on at the end of the academic year by national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of THE CWSA program, now in its 42nd year.
“It is such a great honor to be nominated for this prestigious award again, and I can't put into words how much I appreciate being in this position,” stated Chong. “The hard work my coaches and I have put in really paid off, and I am so grateful for the influence they have had on me both as a tennis player and as a person.”
Chong captured the 2018 NCAA Singles Championship and is the first player in NCAA Individual Tournament history to win four-consecutive singles titles in any division of college tennis. Most recently, she was named the ITA National Senior Player of the Year.
The senior from Sai Kung, Hong Kong is a four-time ITA first-team All-America honoree in singles and doubles and a three-time NESCAC Player of the Year. She has also earned NESCAC first-team honors in both singles and doubles for the past four seasons. She finishes her singles career at Wesleyan as the all-time leader in wins, amassing a 103-6 record in four seasons.
“Eudice's accomplishments this year were nothing short of unprecedented,” said head coach Mike Fried. “As the first player ever - men's or women's, in any division - to win 4 NCAA singles titles, Eudice made history. Over her four years at Wesleyan, she established herself as one of the most accomplished NCAA Division III athletes ever, and she did so with an extraordinary amount of grace, sportsmanship and humility."
All Honda Sports nominees from DIII and DII become a finalist for the prestigious 2018 Honda Woman Athlete of the Year in their respective divisions, presented in a live telecast on CBS Sports on June 25, 2018, in downtown Los Angeles. The Honda Sports nominees are recognized in 11 DIII and DII NCAA-sanctioned sports; cross country, basketball, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, volleyball, and track & field.
THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for 42 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 $3.1 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs at the institutions.