Courtesy: Duke Photography Lindsey Harding and Alison Bales have been named to the Lowe's Senior Class Award List

(Kansas City, MO) – The top 30 men’s and women’s candidates for the 2007 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award – the nation’s premier tribute to college seniors – were announced today.  The award is presented annually to an NCAA Division I male and female senior basketball player who excel both on and off the court.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring.

Sponsored by Lowe’s, the award has already reached its sixth year. Finalists will be selected based on personal qualities that define a complete student athlete.  These areas of excellence are identified under the categories of classroom, character and community, as well as the candidate’s performance and team loyalty on the court. 

The greater emphasis on the off-court achievements of the candidate reflects Lowe’s commitment to helping young people build successful careers and encouraging students to use their skills to make an impact in life.

The Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award will also be expanding in the 2006-07 school year to include additional NCAA men’s and women’s sports.  Lowe’s will announce the specific sports later this month.

“At Lowe’s, we take pride in acknowledging hard work and outstanding accomplishments both on and off the court,” said Bob Gfeller, Lowe’s senior vice president of marketing and advertising.  “That commitment extends beyond our employees and customers and into the communities we serve where these student-athletes become real-life mentors. We’re thrilled to honor each candidate’s contributions and look forward to recognizing the award recipients later this year.”   

This year’s list of 30 male and female candidates for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award for basketball includes representatives from 29 schools and 15 conferences for men, while the women encompass 27 schools and 13 conferences.  On the men’s side, the Atlantic Coast Conference landed seven players on the list including two candidates from Virginia Tech.  On the women’s side, the Southeastern Conference placed seven athletes on the list including a duo from Vanderbilt.  The North Carolina and Duke women’s programs also have double candidates.

From the list of 30 nominees for each gender, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in February as the conference basketball season hits its peak. 

Those ten names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote during the NCAA Tournament in March.  Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches and media to determine the male and female recipients.  Winners will be announced during the men’s and women’s respective Final Four weekends.

The award was conceived by sportscaster Dick Enberg, who continues to serve as Honorary Chairman.  It was inspired by the remarkable story of former Duke star Shane Battier, who could have been an NBA lottery pick but returned to college for his senior season and led the Blue Devils to the national championship in 2001.

Previous winners of the men’s award include Juan Dixon of Maryland (2002), David West of Xavier (2003), Jameer Nelson of St. Joseph’s (2004), Wayne Simien of Kansas (2005) and J.J. Reddick of Duke (2006).

Recipients of the women’s award include Sue Bird of Connecticut (2002), LaToya Thomas of Mississippi State (2003), Alana Beard of Duke (2004), Kendra Wecker of Kansas State (2005) and Seimone Augustus of LSU (2006).

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ABOUT THE CANDIDATES
Thirty candidates for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award are selected for both men’s and women’s basketball each year.  Candidates must be an NCAA Division I senior and must have exhausted all years of their collegiate athletic eligibility.  The complete list of 2006-07 candidates is attached.

ABOUT LOWE’S

With fiscal year 2005 sales of $43.2 billion, Lowe’s Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE® 50 company that serves approximately 12 million customers a week at more than 1,350 home improvement stores in 49 states. Based in Mooresville, N.C., the 60-year old company is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world. For more information, visit Lowes.com.

NCAA is a trademark of the National Collegiate Athletic Association

Lowes Senior CLASS Award

2006-2007 Women’s Nominees

Name
 Height
 Class
 Pos.
 School
 Conference
 
Alison Bales
 6'7'
 Sr.
 C
 Duke
 ACC
 
Amanda Brown
 6'4"
 Sr.
 F/C
 Penn State
 Big Ten
 
Cori Chambers
 5'9"
 Sr.
 G
 Georgia
 SEC
 
Jazz Covington
 6'2"
 Sr.
 C
 Louisville
 Big East
 
Jessica Davenport
 6'0"
 Sr.
 G
 Ohio State
 Big Ten
 
Dee Davis
 6'5"
 Sr.
 C
 Vanderbilt
 SEC
 
Jessica Dickson
 5'11"
 Sr.
 F
 South Florida
 Big East
 
Shay Doron
 5'9"
 Sr.
 G
 Maryland
 ACC
 
Katie Gearlds
 6'1"
 Sr.
 G/F
 Purdue
 Big Ten
 
Lindsey Harding
 5'8"
 Sr.
 G
 Duke
 ACC
 
Kiera Hardy
 5'6"
 Sr.
 G
 Nebraska
 Big 12
 
Cameo Hicks
 5'10"
 Sr.
 G
 Washington
 Pac 10
 
Kate Hobbs
 6'2"
 Sr.
 F/C
 United States Naval Academy
 Patriot
 
Tiffany Jackson
 6'3"
 Sr.
 F
 Texas
 Big 12
 
Melanie Johnson
 6'1"
 Sr.
 F
 South Carolina
 SEC
 
Tara King
 6'0"
 Sr.
 F
 Northern Iowa
 Missouri Valley
 
Ivory Latta
 5'6"
 Sr.
 G
 North Carolina
 ACC
 
Camille Little
 6'2"
 Sr.
 F
 North Carolina
 ACC
 
Ali Mann
 6'1"
 Sr.
 F
 Bowling Green
 MAC
 
Lyndsey Medders
 5'9"
 Sr.
 G
 Iowa State
 Big 12
 
Katie Montgomery
 5'11"
 Sr.
 G
 New Mexico
 Mountain West
 
Carrie Moore
 5’9”
 Sr.
 G
 Western Michigan
 Mid-American
 
Navonda Moore
 5'10"
 Sr.
 G/F
 Alabama
 SEC
 
Lizanne Murphy
 6'1"
 Sr.
 F
 Hofstra
 Colonial
 
Shay Murphy
 5'11"
 Sr.
 G
 Southern California
 Pac 10
 
Sarah Pfeifer
 6'0"
 Sr.
 F
 Arkansas
 SEC
 
Armintie Price
 5'9"
 Sr.
 G
 Mississippi
 SEC
 
Noelle Quinn
 6'0"
 Sr.
 G
 UCLA
 Pac 10
 
Jillian Roberts
 6'1"
 Sr.
 F
 Tulsa
 Conference USA
 
Carla Thomas
 6'3"
 Sr.
 F/C
 Vanderbilt
 SEC