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Fassi captures Honda Sport award for golf; finalist for top woman athlete
Arkansas’ Maria Fassi won the Honda Sport Award for Golf, announced Thursday by Chris Voelz, executive director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Award.
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ Maria Fassi won the Honda Sport Award for Golf, announced Thursday by Chris Voelz, executive director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Award.
With her win, Fassi is now a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the 2019 Honda Cup, which will be presented live in Los Angeles on June 24.
The show will air on CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m.
Fassi is just the second Razorback ever to win a Honda Sport Award, and the first to do so in nearly 20 years.
She joins Amy Yoder-Begley, who won Cross Country’s Sport Award back in 2000. Arkansas Women’s Golf Head Coach Shauna Taylor has produced several finalists for the award, including Gabriela Lopez (2015), Emily Tubert (2012), Kelli Shean (2011) and Stacey Lewis (2007 & 2008), but Fassi becomes the first winner in Arkansas Women’s Golf history.
“For Maria to win this award, it says a lot about her impact on the college game and on our program here at Arkansas,” Taylor said. “From the day I met Maria, I knew she was going to change the game and accomplish so many amazing things.
“She has been a model student-athlete on and off the golf course; winning the Honda Award is just further proof of that. I am so proud of the way she has led our team, but I am even more proud of the woman she has become.”
The Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico, native was spectacular in her final collegiate season, winning both the SEC and NCAA Individual Titles in her last two events played.
Fassi was also the runner-up at the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April.
Due to her masterful performance in her final season in Fayetteville, Fassi won Ping WGCA Player of the Year honors, while also becoming the first golfer ever to win back-to-back ANNIKA awards.
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.
All nominees were chosen through a combination of their NCAA Championship finishes and national golf rankings.
