Zoe Stukenberg, a senior from the University of Maryland, was named the Honda Sport Award winner for Lacrosse 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, Stukenberg 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.
Stukenberg was chosen by a vote of administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Finalists included Kenzie Kent (Boston College), Marie McCool (North Carolina) and Kylie Ohlmiller (Stony Brook). This is the fourth-straight year Maryland captured the sport award after Taylor Cummings of Maryland was a three-time Honda Award winner for Lacrosse from 2014-2016.
“It's an incredible honor to receive the prestigious Honda Award,” said Stukenberg. “This award wouldn't be possible without my teammates and hard work, and it's a testament to their hard work this season. I'm so proud of what we were able to accomplish this season, and I've loved every moment of being a Terp for the last four years.”
Stukenberg, a senior midfielder from Ellicott City, Md., helped Maryland to its third championship title in four years and an undefeated 23-0 record. She is the 2017 Tewaaraton Award winner and was named the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) National Midfielder of the Year along with being named IWLCA first-team All-American. The 2017 Big Ten Midfielder of the Year is a three-time All-Big Ten honoree and a member of the 2017 Big Ten All-Tournament team.
She ranks in the top four on the team in every statistical category, including 53 goals, 31 assists, 84 points, 48 ground balls, 74 draw controls and 21 caused turnovers.
Off the field, Stukenberg has won three-straight Elite 90 Awards with a 4.0 GPA in biological sciences and is just the fourth student-athlete in the history of the award to win the Elite 90 three times.
“We are so proud of Zoe and everything she's accomplished at Maryland,” stated head coach Cathy Reese. “She is an incredible person and teammate both on and off the field, and she is so deserving of the recognition she's earned. This is a tremendous honor for both Zoe and our program.”
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 $3.1 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs at the institutions.