University Southern California Trojans
Park Wins Honda Sports Award For Golf
June 03, 2013 | Women's Golf
June 3, 2013
USC's Annie Park (Levittown, N.Y.), the 2013 WGCA and Pac-12 Player and Freshman of the Year and an NCAA individual title winner who led the Trojans to their third national team title in May, has received the Honda Sports Award for golf and becomes a finalist for the 2013 Honda Cup. The Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) will present the Honda Cup live on ESPNU, June 24 at the USC Galen Center Founders Room in Los Angeles.
"I could not have imagined a better first semester to my college career. Becoming a Trojan in January and being part of this team has been a fantastic experience and I'm just happy I was able to contribute to our NCAA and Pac-12 titles. Winning the Honda Sports Award is a tremendous honor and I am proud to be included with the rest of the amazing winners from this year," said Park from New Jersey where she qualified last week for the 2013 U.S. Women's Open, and will make her second appearance among the world's best women golfers at Sebonack Golf Club in late June.
Park is USC's 15th overall Honda Sports Award winner (which includes two wins each by Cheryl Miller and Kristine Quance) and the third for women's golf. Mikaela Parmlid won it in 2003 and Irene Cho won it in 2006.
Park capped a dominant freshman season by winning the 2013 NCAA Women's Golf individual title by six strokes with a 10-under 278. The win was her fourth of the season (tying a USC season record) and followed titles at the NCAA West Regional and the Pac-12 Championships, making her just the second NCAA woman to sweep conference, regional and NCAA titles in the same season.
Park's stroke average of 71.36 broke USC's season record (71.55) and her four wins this season also tied a school record. An early enrollee who joined the Trojans in January, Park posted seven top 8 finishes and six in the top 3 in nine events. She finished the season with five rounds in the 60s and carded no worse than a 73 in her final 15 rounds and no worse than a 71 in any of her 10 postseason rounds.
The CWSA presents the Honda Sports Award annually to top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports. With this honor, Park becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the 2013 Honda Cup. She was chosen for the Honda Sports Award by a vote among more than 1,000 institutions based on NCAA finish and overall ranking. Finalists included Lindy Duncan (Duke), Stephanie Meadow (Univ. of Alabama), and Paula Reto (Purdue University).
The Collegiate Women Sports Awards has honored the nation's top NCAA women athletes for 37 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 $2.5 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women's athletics programs at the institutions. Previous Honda Cup winners include Brittney Griner, Ann Meyers Drysdale, Lisa Fernandez, Misty May-Treanor, Maya Moore, and Candace Parker.
