Feb. 15, 2012
SEATTLE - Washington senior outfielder Nikia Williams was among 30 elite Division I softball student-athletes named to the 2012 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, one of the most prestigious awards in college athletics. Williams, a two-time All-American, is the fifth Washington player in softball history to be selected and is one of only four candidates from the Pac-12 this season. Jenn Salling was a top-10 finalist and a Second-Team Lowe's Senior CLASS Award All-American in 2011. The Mission Viejo, Calif., native has been a big contributing factor in each of her three seasons at UW. She is a two-time All-Pac-10 Conference and All-Pacific region selection, two-time NFCA All-American, and was a member of the 2009 National Championship team, where she was named to the Women's College World Series All-Tournament team after setting WCWS records for RBI in a game and series, and was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman team. In the Husky career records, she currently ranks 10th in RBIs, eighth in home runs, sixth in slugging percentage, and eights in on base percentage. She also was recently named to the "Watch List" for the 2012 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. The 30 candidates for the award have excelled both on and off the field. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School (CLASS), it focuses on the complete student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. To be eligible, 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. The 2012 candidate class includes six CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-Americans from last season and 12 student-athletes with cumulative grade point averages of 3.5 or higher. Three candidates were Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association first-team All-Americans in 2011, 13 candidates are on teams ranked in the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason top 25, and five participated in last year's NCAA Women's College World Series. Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award winner during the 2012 NCAA Women's College World Series, which will be held May 31-June 6 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The 30 candidates 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, Division I head coaches and fans who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
Below is a list of all the candidates: |
