University of Georgia Athletics
Kupets Named Finalist For Honda-Broderick Cup
June 15, 2009 | Gymnastics
ATHENS, Ga. --- Georgia's Courtney Kupets, the most decorated competitor in collegiate gymnastics history, is one step closer to being the nation's top female student-athlete for all sports for 2008-09. On Monday, Kupets was named one of five finalists for the prestigious Honda-Broderick Cup, the Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards' annual top honor designating the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year.
The finalists were chosen from previously announced Honda Sports Award winners in 12 different NCAA-sanctioned sports, by a vote from among more than 1,000 NCAA-member institutions.
The other four finalists are Colorado's Jennifer Barringer (track and field); Penn State's Nicole Fawcett (volleyball); Washington's Danielle Lawrie (softball); and
Connecticut's Renee Montgomery, (basketball). The winner will be named at a press conference on June 22nd at Columbia University in New York, where she will be presented with her award by softball legend Lisa Fernandez, winner of the Honda-Broderick Cup in 1993.
Kupets led Georgia to its fifth straight NCAA Championship team title, while also winning individual national titles in the all-around, bars, beam and floor. She became the first gymnast ever to win a national title in all five individual events (including the vault in 2007) and finished the 2009 season ranked No. 1 in all-around, bars and beam, and second on floor and vault. Kupets received five first-team All-America honors, making a total of 15 for her career (the maximum for only competing three years). She is the all-time NCAA leader with nine individual championships and was named SEC, AAI National Senior and NCAA Southeast Regional Gymnast of the Year.
At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, Kupets won a Silver Medal with her fellow U.S. team members in the team all-around competition, as well as an individual Bronze Medal in the uneven bars. She is a National Honor Society member and was chosen as ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-American in both 2009 and 2007 and is a recipient of NCAA and SEC postgraduate scholarships.
Other past winners of the Honda-Broderick Cup include some of the most talented and accomplished collegiate athletes in recent history: Jackie Joyner-Kersee (track & field, 1984); Mia Hamm (soccer, 1994), Cheryl Miller (basketball, 1983), Ann Meyers (1978, basketball), Tracy Caulkins (1982, 1984, swimming & diving), Chamique Holdsclaw (basketball, 1998) and Lisa Fernandez (softball, 1993).
In addition to the annual Honda-Broderick Cup, the Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards Program also presents its annual “Honda Inspiration Award” to a deserving collegiate female athlete. This year’s recipient is Nicole Hester, a star basketball player at Drexel University who was forced to withdraw from classes and miss an entire basketball season due to Hodgkin’s Lymphoma but courageously came back and this year led her team to a school-record 24 wins, including a 16-2 record in conference play and their first-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The program also honors “Athletes of the Year” from both NCAA Division II and Division III colleges.
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. sponsors the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program.
The finalists were chosen from previously announced Honda Sports Award winners in 12 different NCAA-sanctioned sports, by a vote from among more than 1,000 NCAA-member institutions.
The other four finalists are Colorado's Jennifer Barringer (track and field); Penn State's Nicole Fawcett (volleyball); Washington's Danielle Lawrie (softball); and
Connecticut's Renee Montgomery, (basketball). The winner will be named at a press conference on June 22nd at Columbia University in New York, where she will be presented with her award by softball legend Lisa Fernandez, winner of the Honda-Broderick Cup in 1993.
Kupets led Georgia to its fifth straight NCAA Championship team title, while also winning individual national titles in the all-around, bars, beam and floor. She became the first gymnast ever to win a national title in all five individual events (including the vault in 2007) and finished the 2009 season ranked No. 1 in all-around, bars and beam, and second on floor and vault. Kupets received five first-team All-America honors, making a total of 15 for her career (the maximum for only competing three years). She is the all-time NCAA leader with nine individual championships and was named SEC, AAI National Senior and NCAA Southeast Regional Gymnast of the Year.
At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, Kupets won a Silver Medal with her fellow U.S. team members in the team all-around competition, as well as an individual Bronze Medal in the uneven bars. She is a National Honor Society member and was chosen as ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-American in both 2009 and 2007 and is a recipient of NCAA and SEC postgraduate scholarships.
Other past winners of the Honda-Broderick Cup include some of the most talented and accomplished collegiate athletes in recent history: Jackie Joyner-Kersee (track & field, 1984); Mia Hamm (soccer, 1994), Cheryl Miller (basketball, 1983), Ann Meyers (1978, basketball), Tracy Caulkins (1982, 1984, swimming & diving), Chamique Holdsclaw (basketball, 1998) and Lisa Fernandez (softball, 1993).
In addition to the annual Honda-Broderick Cup, the Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards Program also presents its annual “Honda Inspiration Award” to a deserving collegiate female athlete. This year’s recipient is Nicole Hester, a star basketball player at Drexel University who was forced to withdraw from classes and miss an entire basketball season due to Hodgkin’s Lymphoma but courageously came back and this year led her team to a school-record 24 wins, including a 16-2 record in conference play and their first-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The program also honors “Athletes of the Year” from both NCAA Division II and Division III colleges.
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. sponsors the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program.
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