Brenna Dowell and teammate Maggie Nichols from the University of Oklahoma, Louisiana State’s Sarah Finnegan and Kyla Ross of UCLA are the four finalists for the Class of 2019 Honda Sport Award for Gymnastics as announced today by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA).

The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 43 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics”.  The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2019 Honda Cup which will be presented on a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on Monday, June 24, 2019, in downtown Los, Angeles.

The nominees were chosen by a panel of coaches representing the Women’s Gymnastics Coaches Association (WGCA). The Honda Sport award winner for Gymnastics will be announced next week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.

Dowell, a senior from Odessa, Mo., was named the 2019 Big 12 Gymnast of the Year and 2019 South Central Region Gymnast of the Year. She helped her team to its fourth national Championship and third in last four years after earning the 2019 NCAA title for floor exercise. A 13-time All-American and nine-time All-Big 12 honoree, she led all Sooners this season with six All-Around titles and owns 39 scores of 9.9 or higher on the season.

Teammate Nichols hails from Little Canada, Minn., and is a three-time Honda Sport Award finalist. The junior is a two-time All-Around NCAA Champion after defending her title this year and captured the 2019 NCAA individual title in vault. She is a 25-time All-American overall and a 12-time All-Big 12 first-team performer. She helped her team to a 32-0 record on the year and second undefeated season in program history.

Finnegan, a native of Lee’s Summit, Mo., is the two-time SEC Gymnast of the Year and the 2019 AAI honoree, given to the top senior gymnast in the nation. A 23-time All-American overall, she led her team to the 2019 NCAA championship runner-up title, matching the highest finish in school history. She is a two-time NCAA Champion on bars and captured 49 individual titles on the season for the most in a season in school history.

Ross, a junior from Aliso Veijo, Calif., was the 2019 Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year and the 2019 West Region Gymnast of the Year. A 19-time All-American, she is tied for the most All-America honors in UCLA history. She is the first UCLA gymnast ever to win NCAA titles on all four individual events in her career after capturing a share of the 2019 vault and floor exercise titles. She is also the first gymnast ever to earn a double gym-slam in one season, with at least two perfect 10s on every event.

Honda Sport Award winners will be presented with the honor during on-campus presentations throughout the year and all Honda Sport Award winners become a finalist for the prestigious 2019 Honda Cup award presented in June.

The CWSA, celebrating its 43rd year, has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for their superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service.  Since commencing its sponsorship in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.3 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs. 

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