After a record-breaking season in which she became the first woman to break the 21-second barrier during the 50-yard freestyle event in Minnesota, it is no surprise that Cal senior Abbey Weitzeil is the recipient of the 2020 Honda Sport Award for swimming.
Since 1976, the Honda Sport Award has been given to the best female athlete in each of 12 major collegiate sports by the Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards (CWSA). Weitzeil’s win marks the eighth time a Cal swimmer has received the award following Mary Meagher (1985, 1987), Natalie Coughlin (2002, 2003), Dana Vollmer (2009), Caitlin Leverenz (2012) and Missy Franklin (2015). Cal has won six times since 2002, the most in the nation.
In most seasons, Weitzeil would now be up against the other 2020 Honda Award winners to see who will win the Honda Cup, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent collegiate season cancellations, the CWSA has decided not to award the 2020 Honda Cup this year.