Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Names Four MAAC Student-Athletes to the 2009 Men's and Women's Soccer Candidate Classes
MAAC Sports
Overland Park, Kan. – Four MAAC men’s and women’s soccer student-athletes who excel both on and off the field were tabbed as candidates today for the 2009 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in the two soccer divisions.
Tennant McVea from Loyola University Maryland and Assaf Sheleg from Saint Peter’s College both earned a spot on the men’s team, while Theresa Ferraina from Loyola and Courtney McMahon from Manhattan College secured a place on the women’s team.
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 School™, 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 2009 candidate class of 60 includes 10 student-athletes who were named Scholar All-Americans by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in 2008. Four of the 60 have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 4.00. Twenty-one candidates represent teams ranked in the preseason top 25 men's and women's polls. And 13 of the 60 candidates are on the preseason watch list for the Hermann Trophy, awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the top male and female Division I soccer players in the country at the end of the season. 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.
Each of the 30 candidate classes will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplify excellence in the four Cs of classroom, character, community and competition.
“Lowe’s is proud to be associated with the nominees for the Senior CLASS Award in soccer,” said Bob Gfeller, Lowe’s senior vice president of marketing and advertising. “Each of the student-athletes has shown tremendous commitment to their studies during their college careers. They have also demonstrated great character and a passion for community service.”
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 State 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.
ABOUT THE AWARD
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School™, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: classroom, community, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards that a senior season can bring. Sportscaster Dick Enberg, Honorary Chairman of the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, first conceived the idea of an award for seniors in 2001 in response to the growing trend of men’s basketball players leaving school early for the NBA. The award program has expanded the past two years to include a total of nine NCAA® Division I sports – football, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s ice hockey, men’s lacrosse, baseball and softball in addition to men’s and women’s basketball. The award is sponsored by Lowe’s, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA®, and managed by Premier Sports Management. For more information, visit www.seniorclassaward.com.
ABOUT LOWE’S
With fiscal year 2008 sales of $48.2 billion, Lowe’s Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE® 50 company that serves approximately 14 million customers a week at more than 1,675 home improvement stores in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1946 and based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe’s is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world. For more information, visit Lowes.com.
ABOUT THE NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletics opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.NCAA.org and www.NCAA.com for more details about the Association.