OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Monmouth University soccer players Ryan Kinne (Naugtauck, Conn. /Naugatuck) and Ali Kliment (Florence, N.J. /The Pennington School) have each been selected as candidates for the 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The pair of Hawks make up sixty NCAA men's and women's soccer student-athletes who excel both on and off the field. 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.
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.
Kinne, a captain for the 15th-ranked Hawks, was named to the Missouri Athletic Club's 2010 Hermann Trophy Watch List, awarded annually to the top player in college soccer, last week. Kinne, a midfielder who was also named a semifinalist for the award last year, is the only two-time honoree in program history. As a junior, Kinne was named to the NSCAA/Performance Subaru Men's NCAA Division I All-America First Team and the NSCAA/adidas North Atlantic Region First Team. An All-Northeast Conference First Team selection, Kinne was also the NEC Player of the Year, as well as the BigAppleSoccer.com Men's College Player of the Year in 2009.
Last season, Kliment was an all-league first team selection and was honored as the 2009 NEC Defensive Player of the Year. The central defender was also named the 2009 NEC Women's Soccer Scholar Athlete of the Year, as well as an ESPN the Magazine All-District II First-Team member.
Both Kinne and Kliment helped their teams to NEC Championships in 2009 and were also NEC All-Tournament Team selections.
Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award® winners during the 2010 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup championships in early December.
Each of the 30 candidate classes 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, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplify excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
"The nominations for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for soccer are traditionally strong in community service and academic excellence," said Tom Lamb, Lowe's senior vice president of marketing. "This year's candidate class reflects the strong sense of obligation these student-athletes have to their communities, their universities and their teammates and we are proud to recognize them for their excellence."
