Left to right: Kelly Barnhill, Alex McMurtry and Belinda Woolcock.
Gator Glam Fam: Living It Up at Honda Cup
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 | Gymnastics, Softball, Women's Tennis, Chris Harry
Belinda Woolcock (tennis), Alex McMurtry (gymnastics) and Kelly Barnhill (softball) were honored as Honda Cup athlete of the year in their respective sports.
To get to Los Angeles for Monday night's Honda Sports Award ceremony, Florida softball star Kelly Barnhill flew nine hours from Tokyo, where she was playing for Team USA at the USA versus Japan All-Star Series, and by the time the festivities were over had been up 36 hours straight. Tennis standout Belinda Woolcock, who graduated last month, traveled there after a visit home to Australia. Super gymnast Alex McMurtry had it the easiest. She just had to take a flight down from Portland, Ore., where she's interning at Nike this summer.
Once on site, these three Gator sisters joined forces with the creme de la creame of the nation's female college athletes. Barnhill, Woolcock and McMurtry made up an impressive UF contingent at the program that celebrates the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports. It was just the fourth time in the award's 41-year history that a trio from the same school was represented and first time since 1998.
The ceremony was broadcast live during an hour-long special on CBS Sports Network at USC's Galen Center, with Stanford swimmer and five-time Olympic gold-medalist Katie Ledecky selected from the dozen Division-I nominees as the 2017 Honda Cup overall winner. The ceremony also toasted the Division II and III athletes of the year as well as a most inspirational.
"It's been an amazing experience, just so much fun," Woolcock said late Monday night. "I can't believe I've been able to meet such amazing women in one place. I'll never forget these past couple days."
They earned it.
To review:
* Woolcock, from Melbourne, helped lead the Gators to the 2017 NCAA women's tennis championship, playing No. 1 singles her entire senior campaign. Woolcock's team not only took home the ultimate hardware, but she went on and advanced to the finals of the singles draw and was named Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA championships.
* Barnhill, a sophomore from Marietta, Ga., garnered 2017 USA Softball Player of the Year honors after an astounding season that ended in the Women's College World Series championship round. She led the nation in ERA at 0.51 and strikeouts per inning at 13.0.
* McMurtry, a junior from Midlothian, Va., captured the all-around title at the NCAA Championships and along the way set a semifinal scoring record with 39.8125 points, plus nailed a perfect 10.0 on the bars in the Super Six. She was Southeastern Conference gymnast and scholar athlete of the year.
Together, they became the 15th, 16th and 17th athletes in UF history bestowed with the prestigious Honda Cup honor, joining with the likes of Tracy Caulkins, Lisa Raymond, Nicole Haislett, Danielle Fotopoulos, Bridget Sloan, Kyra Hunter and Lauren Haeger.
"I'm so excited and so proud to be mentioned in that category," McMurtry said.
As part of the two-day, whirlwind itinerary, the athletes arrived in L.A. Sunday morning and visited children and parents at a local hospital and later were toasted at a reception Sunday night. Monday brought a couple hours of social media activities, a banquet followed by a rehearsal (including a make-up and hair session) in the run-up to the ceremony.
Barnhill, who woke up at 6 a.m. Monday in Japan and arrived in California at 11 a.m. — go ahead and try doing that whacky time-zone math — greatly appreciated the fact that make-up mavens and hair stylists were on hand to offer their services in advance of the show.
"I felt like a zombie," Barnhill said.
She didn't look like one. In fact, they all looked fabulous and had a stunning time of it to match.
And then they went their separate ways.
Barnhill had a Tuesday morning flight home to Atlanta, but will head to Oklahoma City next week for the World Cup. Woolcock was off to Amsterdam to commence her pro career. McMurtry had a late-night Monday flight back to Portland to be back at work Tuesday morning.
Such was life for these jet-setting (and athletic-history-making) Gators, at least for one glorious and glamorous day.
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Softball
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
/ Women's Tennis
Unbreakable: Florida Gators Gymnastics | Episode 3
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Sunday, March 29
One on One with Harrison Bader
Saturday, March 28
Road to Gameday: Florida Softball
Friday, March 27
