Opalka Named Candidate for Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Siena Sports Information
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - Siena Men's Soccer senior captain Jannis Opalka
has been selected as a candidate for the prestigious Lowe's Senior
CLASS Award. The first Siena Men's Soccer nominee in program history,
Opalka is one of just 30 candidates nationally from over 200 Division I
Men's Soccer programs and the only MAAC nominee for the award.
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 - community, classroom, character and
competition. Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will
announce the Senior CLASS Award winner during the 2012 NCAA Men's
College Cup Championship which takes place Dec. 7 and 9 in Hoover, Ala.
From the list of 30 candidates, a national media committee will
select ten finalists for the 2012 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in early
October. Those 10 names will then be placed on the official ballot for a
nationwide vote. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches
and media to determine the recipient of the award.
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.
Throughout his three-plus seasons in Loudonville, Opalka has
embodied the four areas of excellence outlined by the Lowe's Senior
CLASS Award criterion.
In the community, Opalka has been an active member and
continually embraced a leadership role with the "Saints in the
Community" program. Along with his teammates, Opalka made a significant
contribution in helping the Siena Athletic Department win the 2011-12
MAAC Pepsi Refresh Goodworks Challenge for performing the most community
service of any of the 10 MAAC schools.
In the classroom, the Stade, Germany native has posted a nearly perfect
3.9 cumulative GPA while majoring in Management. Following his junior
season, he was named a Capital One Academic All-District I First Team
selection, an NSCAA Scholar All-American and an NSCAA Scholar All-East
Region First Team selection. Additionally, he has earned MAAC
All-Academic and Honor Roll honors in each year of eligibility.
Opalka's character went a long way in earning him the Metro Atlantic
Athletic Conference's male nomination for the 2010-11 NCAA Student
Athlete Sportsmanship Award which honors student athletes who "have
distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and
ethical behavior." First named a team captain as only a sophomore for
his great leadership and communication skills, Opalka has been hailed by
teammates, coaches, classmates and members of the Siena Community alike
for coming to the aid of fellow international students and helping them
in their immersion to the English language and culture.
On the field of competition, Opalka was tabbed an NSCAA All-North
Atlantic Third Team selection and Second Team All-MAAC honoree
following last season. The anchor of the Saints' center backfield since
his arrival in Loudonville, Opalka started all 17 games last year for a
Siena defense which tied a program single-season record by allowing just
16 total goals and ranked 34th nationally with a 0.89 goals against
average.
Opalka's nomination continues a recent string of candidacies of
Siena College student athletes for this prestigious honor. In the past
three seasons the men's lacrosse program has had four nominees and this
spring Tom Morr was named one of ten national finalists for the men's
lacrosse honor.
For more information on Opalka's nomination and all of this year's candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com
ABOUT THE AWARD
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in
School, the Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior
student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, 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 a senior
season can bring. Premier Sports Management manages the award.
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 NCAA.org and NCAA.com for more details about the
Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help
support programs for student-athletes.