Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Announces 2009 Finalists for Nation's Outstanding Senior Student-Athlete in NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Soccer
MAAC Sports
Overland Park, Kan. - Loyola University Maryland soccer players Tennant McVea and Theresa Ferraina are among the 20 NCAA® men's and women's soccer student-athletes tabbed as finalists for the 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in the two soccer divisions.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in SchoolTM, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 men's candidates and 30 women's candidates that were announced in August.
Nationwide balloting begins immediately to determine the winner. Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award winners during the 2009 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup championships in early December.
The 2009 men's finalists are: Zak Boggs, University of South Florida; Ronnie Bouemboue, North Carolina State University; Richard Edgar, George Mason University; Rylan Hawkins, University of Washington; Tennant McVea, Loyola University Maryland; Patrick Sampson, Loyola Marymount University; Zack Schilawski, Wake Forest University; Eric Weigman, IUPUI; Jason Yeisley, Pennsylvania State University; and Ben Zemanski, University of Akron.
The women's finalists for 2009 are: Elizabeth Betterbed, United States Military Academy; Kelsey Davis, University of Portland; Kristi Eveland, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Theresa Ferraina, Loyola University Maryland; Lauren Lopez, University of North Carolina, Greensboro; Blakely Mattern, University of South Carolina; Lizzy Nichols, Harvard University; Kelley O'Hara, Stanford University; Emily Peterson, Texas A&M University; and Myra Sack, Dartmouth College.
These 20 names will be placed on the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award soccer ballot for a nationwide vote beginning today and concluding November 13. Fan balloting will be available on the award's official Web site, http://www.seniorCLASSaward.com, as well as through text messaging. Fans can text SOCCER to 74567 to vote for men's finalists and GOAL to 74567 to vote for women's finalists. These votes will be combined with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient of the award.
"We commend these student-athletes for their outstanding achievements on and off the field," said Tom Lamb, Lowe's senior vice president of marketing. "Lowe's is proud of its affiliation with the NCAA and college athletics, and we want to honor these competitors who have displayed a commitment to character, community and the classroom in addition to recognizing their accomplishments on the soccer field."
This marks the third year for the men's and women's soccer division of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, and more than 175 student-athletes were nominated this year. Wake Forest University midfielder Sam Cronin received the men's award for the 2008 season, while Kerri Hanks from the University of Notre Dame won the women's award. In 2007, United States Naval Academy goalkeeper Evan Barnes took home the inaugural men's soccer award and Stephanie Lopez from the University of Portland received the women's award.