Douglass, Walsh named 2022 Honda Sport Award finalists

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Junior Kate Douglass and sophomore Alex Walsh were named finalists for the 2022 Women’s Swimming & Diving Honda Sport Award.

Douglass and Walsh join NC State’s Katherine Berkhoff and Indiana’s Tarrin Gilliland. Paige Madden was a 2021 Honda Sport Award finalist for the Cavaliers.

A junior from Pelham, N.Y., Douglass was named the 2022 CSCAA and ACC Women’s Swimmer of the Year. The 21-time All-American captured three individual NCAA titles at the 2022 NCAA Championship and four relay NCAA Championships. She has eight career NCAA titles along with 18 career ACC titles and led Virginia to its second consecutive NCAA Championship.

Walsh is a two-time NCAA Champion in the 200 IM, setting an American record at the 2022 NCAA Championship en route to the team title. The sophomore captured three individual NCAA Championship titles in 2022 and boasts nine career NCAA titles in both individual and relay events. Hailing from Nashville, Tenn., she was named the 2022 ACC Swimmer of the Meet after capturing six ACC titles.

The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 46 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 2022 Honda Cup which will be presented on a telecast on CBS Sports Network.

The women’s swimming and diving finalists were selected by a panel of coaches and experts from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). The Honda Sport award winner for swimming & diving will be announced later this week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.

The CWSA, entering its 46th 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 partnership in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.4 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs.