Courtesy FloridaGators.com

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It’s a perfect conclusion to the NCAA all-time 10.0 co-leader’s collegiate career.

Trinity Thomas earns her second consecutive Honda Sports Award in 2023, an honor given annually to the nation’s top collegiate female athlete in her sport. The Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) revealed Thomas as the 2023 Honda Award winner today.

Earlier this month, Thomas’ perfect vault in the NCAA Team Final was the 28th of her outstanding Gator career, moving her into a three-way tie for the NCAA Career 10.0 record. The pair who Thomas shares the career 10.0 record – UCLA’s Jamie Dantzscher and Kentucky’s Jenny Hansen – both were Honda Award nominees, with Hansen claiming Honda’s gymnastics honor in her final three seasons (1994, ’95, ’96).

Of the 37 different gymnasts to claim the Honda Award in the honor’s 47-year history, Thomas is one of nine to earn multiple recognitions – which now includes three Gators (Kytra Hunter 2012, ’15; Bridget Sloan 2013, ’16). She is the sixth to claim the Honda Award in consecutive seasons and first since Georgia’s Kim Arnold (1997, ’98).

About the Honda Award
The Honda Sports Award is presented annually by the CWSA to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics”. With this honor, Thomas becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2023 Honda Cup, which will be presented on June 26 in a live nationally televised broadcast on CBS Sports Network at 6 pm PT/9 pm ET from Los Angeles, Calif.

The honor is based on the results of national balloting among all NCAA member schools as part of The Collegiate Women Sports Awards program, now in its 47th year. The other finalists were Haleigh Bryant of LSU, Jade Carey of Oregon State and Raena Worley of Kentucky.

A Gator gymnast has claimed the Honda Award seven of the last 12 years. Gator Greats Bridget Sloan (2013, 2016), Kytra Hunter (2012, 2015), Alex McMurtry (2017) and Thomas (2022 & 2023) also received the Honda Award for gymnastics. The first Gator gymnast to receive the honor was Ann Woods in 1982.

Florida’s eight Honda Awards shares the high number of program gymnastics honors with Alabama (8) and Georgia (8).

Thomas’ 2023 Season
In 2023, Thomas led the nation for the third consecutive season for perfect 10.0s – 2021 (4), 2022 (12) and 2023 (8).

Here’s some more highlights from Thomas’ 2023 season:

  • Career NCAA 10.0 co-leader. Earned 28th perfect mark in NCAA Championships team final vault competition to help Florida to a runner-up finish
  • One of three in nation with five 2023 Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) All-America regular-season honors. First team for all-around, uneven bars and floor exercise; second team vault and balance beam
  • All-America first-team honors for vault and uneven bars in NCAA Championships semifinal. Competed only two events due to injury suffered in NCAA Regional second round.
  • 2023 Southeastern Conference Gymnast of Year. Joins Alabama’s Andreé Pickens as only three-time recipients in award’s history.
  • SEC all-around (39.80), uneven bars and floor exercise (10.0) champion. Part of All-SEC team
  • One of two in SEC Championship meet history with two 10.0 in a single meet.
  • Nation’s 10.0 leader in each of last three seasons: 2021 (4), 2022 (12), 2023 (8)
  • Only gymnast in NCAA history with at least five 10.0s on each apparatus for five career Gym Slams
  • College Gym News National Gymnast of the Year – also won first honor in 2021
  • WCGA Region V Gymnast of the Year – third such honor (2019, 2020, 2023)
  • Second consecutive SEC Gymnast of the Week after posting nation’s third-highest all-around total (39.85), winning uneven bars (9.975) and sharing balance beam (10.0) and floor exercise (9.95) titles at LSU
  • SEC Gymnast of the Week after winning all-around (39.825) and balance beam (10.0) versus Missouri. Also shared floor exercise win at 9.975
  • Florida’s career all-arounder leader (30), passing Bridget Sloan (27) with win vs Missouri
  • Opened 2023 floor performances with nation’s first 10.0 on event versus Auburn. Won every floor completed in 2023 (9).
  • SEC Specialist Gymnast of Week 1 & 4. Posted a 10.0 in Jan. 6 (floor) and Jan. 27 (vault) meets
  • Beam 10.0 was first in the nation for 2023 – sixth consecutive meet with a 10.0 (dating back to 2022 NCAA Regionals).
  • Led Florida in 2023 with 29 event wins (9 floor, 7 bars, vault, 5 all-around & vault, 3 beam). Florida’s career leader with 142 event titles