Feb. 10, 2010

BOCA RATON, FL - Florida Atlantic University softball player Blair Bodenmiller was one of thirty collegiate softball student-athletes who were tabbed as candidates for the 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award on Wednesday. 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.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School^TM, 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.

This year's candidate class includes 10 student-athletes on teams ranked in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) preseason top 25 poll and 10 players who finished the 2009 season as Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Americans. Five candidates were on the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America team in 2009.Nineteen of the candidates carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better.

This achievement caps a huge week for Bodenmiller, who was named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team as well as Preseason Co-Player of the Year in the conference.

"Blair personifies everything that is great about college athletics and she represents herself and the university well in everything she does," said FAU head softball coach Joan Joyce.

This marks the fourth year for the softball division of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. University of Florida pitcher Stacey Nelson received the award for the 2009 season and Virginia Tech pitcher Angela Tincher took home the 2008 honor. In 2007, University of Arizona outfielder Caitlin Lowe won the inaugural softball award. A complete list of candidates can be found by clicking here.