Monica Vaughn, a senior from Arizona State University, was named the Honda Sport Award winner for Golf as announced by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) today.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 41 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics”. With this honor, Vaughn becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2017 Honda Cup which will be presented on a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on June 26, 2017, in downtown Los Angeles.
Vaughn was chosen by a vote of administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Finalists included Jennifer Kupcho (Wake Forest), Andrea Lee (Stanford) and Leona Maguire (Duke).
“I am so honored to receive this award, joining an incredible list of past Sun Devils including Grace Park, Kellee Booth, and Wendy Ward,” said Vaughn. “I dedicate it to my incredible coaches, teammates, family, and supporters and could not be prouder to be a Sun Devil for life.”
Vaughn, a senior from Reedsport, Ore., captured the 2017 NCAA Championship individual title as well as being the 2017 NCAA Regional individual medalist. She is a two-time Ping/WGCA first-team All-American and an All-Pac-12 first-team honoree as well as a member of the 2016 Curtis Cup USA team. In the classroom, Vaughn is a three-time first-team Pac-12 Academic honoree and was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team.
She completed her senior season with a 71.53 stroke average and closed her career with five top-three finishes in her last six tournaments, including the NCAA Championships. Overall, she had eight top-10 finishes on the year. Vaughn finished the season ranked 10th in both GolfStat.com and in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings.
“I could not be prouder of Monica and how she represented Arizona State on the golf course and in the classroom,” stated head coach Missy Farr-Kaye. “The Honda Award is a tremendous honor and everyone at ASU is very happy for her and her many accomplishments.”
Honda Sport Award winners will be presented with the honor during on-campus presentations throughout the year.
The CWSA, in its 41st 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 $3.5 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs at the institutions.