Eudice Chong, a junior from Wesleyan University, was named the 2017 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 second 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 41st year.
“This past season has been a crazy ride, with our team trying to make small steps each day to improve our chances of coming up on top every match,” stated Chong. “The comradery we have in our team is what keeps our team focused on reaching a common goal, and the support I get from them is phenomenal. It is nice to be playing at the Individual NCAA Championships knowing that my teammates will be cheering me on, but hopefully next year, we will be able to make the Elite 8 and compete as a team at the tournament venue as well. It is such an honor to be nominated for such a prestigious award, showing that hard work really does pay off!”
Chong is the first player in NCAA Division III Women's Individual Tournament history to win three-consecutive singles titles. She also captured her first DIII NCAA Double's Championship to become the first player since 2004 to win both NCAA titles in the same year.
The junior from Sai Kung, Hong Kong is a two-time ITA first-team All-America honoree in singles and doubles and a two-time NESCAC Player of the Year. She has also earned NESCAC first-team honors in both singles and doubles for the past three seasons. This season she completed the 2016-17 campaign 18-1 in both singles and doubles and posted a perfect 13-0 in singles in dual match play.
“Eudice capped off an incredible year by becoming the first player in NCAA history to win back-to-back-to-back singles titles,” said head coach Mike Fried. “She's become one of the most dominant (if not the most dominant) players in DIII history, and she matches her on-court performance with a grace and humility - on the court and off - that's the real stuff of champions."
All Honda Sports nominees from DIII and DII become a finalist for the prestigious 2017 Honda Woman Athlete of the Year in their respective divisions, presented in a live telecast on CBS Sports on June 26, 2017, 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 41 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.