OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Senior libero Kelsey Jewasko was named one of 30 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for volleyball on Thursday.
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.
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.
The 2011 candidate class includes nine American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Americans and eight honorable mention All-Americans from last season. More than half of the 30 have maintained a cumulative GPAs of 3.5 or better. Two of the candidates were recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as 2010 Academic All-Americans and 10 of the candidates play for teams ranked in the AVCA preseason Top 25 poll.
Jewasko, a preseason first-team All-Southland Conference selection, is a two-time Southland Libero of the Year and first-team all-conference honoree. The San Antonio native, who currently holds a 3.93 GPA while working towards a degree in interdisciplinary studies, was named the 2010 Southland Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year for UTSA and garnered first-team Southland All-Academic honors for the second straight season.
Jewasko appeared in all 132 sets for the Roadrunners a year ago while helping the team to the Southland Tournament Championship and the program's second-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. She led the league with 669 digs (5.24 dps) and earned three consecutive Southland Defensive Player of the Week awards from Sept. 20–Oct. 4.
Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award winner during the 2011 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship, which will be played December 15-17 at the Alamodome.
The candidate list will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those names will be played on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
2011 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award candidates
Rachael Adams, Texas
Kendall Bateman, USC
Suzy Boulavsky, Oklahoma
Michelle Burow, Northern Iowa
Lane Carico, Miami (Fla.)
Kellie Catanach, Duke
Lucy Charuk, Houston
Kanani Danielson, Hawai`i
Sophia Dunworth, Duke
Kaylie Gibson, North Carolina
Sarah Havel, College of Charleston
Kim Hill, Pepperdine
Kristin Hoffman, Northern Illinois
Mary Elizabeth Hooper, Wichita State
Alex Hunt, Michigan
Kayla Jeter, Tennessee
Kelsey Jewasko, UTSA
Liz McArthur, Utah State
Kelly Murphy, Florida
Tarah Murrey, California
Dana Powell, SMU
Darlene Ramdin, St. John’s
Jenilee Rathje, Michigan State
Stacey Schmidt, UC Santa Barbara
Tanya Schmidt, Santa Clara
Betsy Sedlak, UC Davis
Kelsea Seymour, Southern Mississippi
Regina Thomas, Mississippi
Hannah Veith, Robert Morris
Vineece Verdun, Georgia State
