March 6, 2009
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IOWA CITY – Senior Colleen McGlaughlin is one of 30 softball student-athletes nationally to be nominated for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. McGlaughlin, along with Penn State’s Danielle Kinley and Northwestern’s Tammy Hill, are the only Big Ten nominees for the award.
The award, which stands for “Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School,” focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages those leaders to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact.
To be eligible, student-athletes must be an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: classroom, character, community and competition.
McGlaughlin, a native of Morton, IL, currently leads the team with 13 RBI and has the second-highest batting average at .348. She is a two-time NFCA all-Mideast Region selection, including first team honors as a junior. McGlaughlin is also a two-time all-Big Ten pick, gaining third team honors as a sophomore and second team honors as a junior.
McGlaughlin also excels in the classroom and currently has a 4.0+ grade-point average while majoring in actuarial science. She was one of only 11 softball student-athletes to be named ESPN the Magazine first team Academic all-American and is a two-time Academic all-District pick. McGlaughlin also stays active in the community, volunteering at numerous softball camps, both in Iowa City and her hometown.
The list of 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on an official ballot. Ballots will then be distributed through a nationwide voting system to the media, coaches and fans. The award winner will be recognized at the 2009 NCAA Women’s College World Series.
Sportscaster Dick Enberg, who is the Honorary Chairman of the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, first conceived the idea of an award for seniors in 2001 in response to the growing trend of men’s basketball players leaving early for the NBA. The award was launched to honor senior student-athletes who remained in college, exhausting their collegiate eligibility, to pursue a college degree.