Every year around this time, honors and accolades are handed out for an assortment of achievments. Of all the cool awards out there for collegiate-athletes one of the most prestigious is the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.

Yesterday, 30 NCAA women’s basketball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court were tabbed as candidates today for the 2009-10 Lowe’s Senior CLASS 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 – classroom, character, community and competition.

Individuals qualified based on their dedication and achievement in four areas: Classroom, Character, Community, and Competition. The Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award is distinctive from many other honors in that on-the-field performance is only one factor in determining candidacy – a major emphasis is placed on off-the-field commitments and personal character.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the CLASS award was launched in 2001 to honor the attributes of college seniors who fulfill their entire athletic eligibility (meaning they don’t abandon school for pro careers).

This year’s candidate class includes 25 players on the preseason watch lists for the men’s and women’s John R. Wooden Award and 11 women’s players who are preseason favorites for the State Farm Wade Trophy. Eleven women represent teams ranked in the top 25 women’s preseason poll.

Lowe’s, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award™ winner for men’s basketball at the 2010 NCAA Men’s Final Four® in Indianapolis in April and for women’s basketball at the 2010 NCAA Women’s Final Four® in San Antonio in April.

Women’s Basketball 2009-10 Candidates

Name Position School

Jayne Appel Center Stanford University

Miranda Ayim Forward/Center Pepperdine University

Amy Beggin Guard University of New Mexico

Joy Cheek Forward/Guard Duke University

Alysha Clark Forward Middle Tennessee State University

Allyssa DeHaan Center Michigan State University

Claire Faucher Guard Portland State University

Kristen Feemster Forward Western Carolina University

Jordan Franey Guard/Forward University of California, Santa Barbara

Tyra Grant Guard Pennsylvania State University

Alexis Gray-Lawson Guard University of California

Kelsey Griffin Forward University of Nebraska

Lisa Helmers Guard Loyola Marymount University

Allison Hightower Guard Louisiana State University

Ashley Houts Guard University of Georgia

May Kotsopoulos Guard University of Vermont

Maggie Krick Guard Illinois State University

Kelsey Luna Guard Indiana State University

Joy McCorvey Forward St. John’s University

Danielle McCray Guard/Forward University of Kansas

Jessica Mooney Guard Vanderbilt University

Jené Morris Guard San Diego State University

Deirdre Naughton Guard DePaul University

Lauren Sims Guard Long Beach State University

Jenna Smith Center University of Illinois

Ashley Sweat Forward Kansas State University

Bianca Thomas Guard University of Mississippi

Amanda Thompson Forward University of Oklahoma

Jenny Van Kirk Forward Bradley University

Monica Wright Guard University of Virginia

View Original Post at prettytough.com

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