Marie Coors, a senior from Saint Leo University, was named the DII Honda Athlete of the Year nominee for Golf as announced by Executive Director Chris Voelz of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda.

Coors is now designated one of 11 finalists for the prestigious DII 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.

Coors, a senior hailing from Gross-Zimmern, Germany, was named the Ping/Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) DII Player of the Year after winning the DII NCAA Championship individual medalist honor. This was the first national championship, team or individual, in women’s athletics at Saint Leo.  She led DII with a 72.16 stroke average and finished in the top 10 in all 11 events including three tournament wins and nine top-five finishes.

Off the course, she was presented with the NCAA Elite 90 award in women’s golf given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA in her sport. The three-time CoSIDA At-large Academic All-District honoree is also the Clara McDonald Olson Scholastic Excellence Award recipient, which is presented to the member of the Saint Leo graduating class with the highest GPA earned over four years

“I am very honored to be named the DII Honda Athlete of the Year nominee for golf,” said Coors. “The last four years have been an incredible journey and I am thankful for the opportunities my sport has given me. However, this award is not only about what I have accomplished but about everybody that has supported and helped me along the way. I want to thank my family, team, coach, friends, and the entire Saint Leo community for giving me the opportunity to achieve my goals and dreams.”

“This is a wonderful honor for Marie,” stated head coach Thomas Baker. “This award exemplifies what it means to truly be an exemplary student-athlete and I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to be her coach for the last four years.”

All Honda Sports nominees from DII and DIII 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 DII and DIII 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.