Kytra Hunter has earned yet another honor in what has been a truly remarkable senior season.
Hunter was named the 2015 Honda Sports Award recipient for gymnastics, designating her as the top collegiate female gymnast in the country.
Hunter also won the award as a freshman, making her only the second female gymnast in the last 15 years to win the award multiple times.
She was the first Gator gymnast to ever win the award in 2012. Florida has now had three of the past four Honda Award recipients — Bridget Sloan won in 2013.
“What a wonderful surprise to such an amazing season,” Hunter said in a release. “The Honda Award is so special to women’s collegiate athletics and I am so honored to receive it on behalf of the University of Florida.
“I’d like to thank my teammates, coaches and all who cheered the Gators because their support means so much. It has been a privilege representing the University of Florida as a Gator gymnast.”
“The Honda Award is an extraordinary honor and I’m so happy that Kytra is receiving it after her exceptional season,” coach Rhonda Faehn said in the release. “She took on much this year, performing as an all-arounder in every single meet and her contributions were a big part of the Gators’ success. I am very proud of all she’s achieved – Kytra’s represented Florida with such class and integrity during her career.”
The honor adds to an already long list of accomplishments for Hunter this season, including the NCAA all-around and floor titles, SEC Gymnast of the Year and four All-America honors earned at the NCAA Championships.
She was also the only gymnast to rank in the top-25 nationally in all five events based on Regional Qualifying Score — No. 1 on all-around (39.625), No. 2 on floor (9.96) and vault (9.955), tied for No. 17 on bars (9.900) and tied for No. 22 on beam (9.885).
Now, Hunter will be among 12 finalists from different sports for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the 2015 Honda Cup.
Only one Gator — U.S. Olympic gold medalist swimmer Tracy Caulkins in 1982 and 1984 — has won that award.
Follow Graham Hack on Twitter @graham_hack24
Kytra Hunter performs her floor exercise during Florida's 197.60-196.950 win against Georgia on Jan. 30 in the O'Connell Center. Hunter was named the 2015 Honda Sports Award recipient for gymnastics on Friday.
