Emma Navarro Named a Finalist for the 2021 Honda Sport Award for Tennis
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –Virginia women’s tennis freshman Emma Navarro (Charleston, S.C.) has been selected as one of four finalists for the Class of 2021 Honda Sport Award for Tennis as announced by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) today.
Navarro joins Sara Daavettila from North Carolina, Katarina Jokic of Georgia, and Estela Perez-Somarriba from Miami. Perez-Somarriba was the 2019 award winner.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 45 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 2021 Honda Cup which will be presented on a telecast on CBS Sports Network, on June 28th, at 9 pm ET.
The tennis finalists were chosen by a combination of NCAA Championship finishes and national tennis rankings. The Honda Sport Award winner for Tennis will be announced later this week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.
Named the 2021 ACC Freshman of the Year, Navarro entered the 2021 NCAA Singles Championship as the No. 3 seed and went on to capture the 2021 NCAA Singles Championship as well as being a semifinalist in doubles. The freshman began her career by winning her first 14 singles matches and ranked as high as No. 1 in the ITA national rankings. She was a six-time ACC Freshman of the Week and a two-time ACC Player of the Week.
Virginia’s Danielle Collins was named the Honda Sports Award winner for tennis in 2016 after winning her second NCAA title.
The CWSA, celebrating its 45th anniversary 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.