Gymnast Missy Marlowe, who won four individual NCAA titles for Utah, has been named winner of the Honda-Broderick Cup as the nation's outstanding college female athlete.
Marlowe is the first gymnast to win the award, the top honor given women athletes in college. Marlowe set all-time NCAA championship meet records with her scores in the all-around (39.65), beam (9.90) and floor exercise (9.975).The Salt Lake City native won the uneven bars with a score of 9.925 while leading Utah to the 1992 NCAA team championship.
Voting on the Broderick Cup was conducted among more than 800 NCAA schools.
The award was announced at a dinner Thursday night in Dallas, site of the NCAA's annual convention.
"I'm on top of the world right now," said Marlowe, 21, who graduates in June with a degree in exercise and sports science. "It's an incredible feeling. I just never dreamed of winning an award of this magnitude."
Ute coach Greg Marsden said he had strong feelings that Marlowe would win the award because "she dominated her sport like no other athlete and she led her team to the national championship."
During her four-year career at Utah, Marlowe became the only gymnast in NCAA history to earn a perfect "10" in four events. Marlowe led the Utes to the 1990 team championship and the runner-up spot in 1991. She was a gold medalist in the 1987 Pan American games and competed as a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team.
Marlowe was selected by the Deseret News as the 1992 Athlete of the Year, an award given to the state's best amateur athlete. She also received the WAC's prestigious Stan Bates Award.