Aug. 19, 2010

Overland Park, Kan. - Senior midfielder Vendula Strnadova was named one of 30 women's soccer student-athletes who were selected as a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.

Strnadova, also a candidate for the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy, is the first women's soccer student-athlete in program history who has been named a candidate for the award. 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.

"I think it is a huge honor for Vendula and she obviously deserves the recognition," said head coach Brooks Monaghan. "She has put together a great career in her three years and we expect the same this year. She is the complete package when you look for a soccer student-athlete. Hopefully this honor gives her even more confidence going into the season."

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.

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.

"This honor is not only an honor for Vendula, but it is an honor for the University of Memphis and this program. For her to be the first student-athlete to achieve this shows how far this program has come."

The 18th-ranked Lady Tiger soccer squad opens the 2010 season at Saint Louis on Friday at 5 p.m. Live stats and live chat are available for all Memphis fans.

2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award

Women's Soccer Candidates

Name, Position, School

Kristi Andreassen, Defender, Northern Arizona

Kelly Blumenschein, Forward, Dayton

Becky Brown, Forward, Yale

Erica Campanelli, Defender, Texas

Amanda DaCosta, Midfielder, Florida State

Alyssa Davila, Midfielder, Southern California

Alexandra Elston, Midfielder, Arizona State

Callan Elswick, Forward, Davidson

Friederike Engel, Defender, American

Lauren Fowlkes, Defender, Notre Dame

Katie Fraine, Goalkeeper, Florida

Jenny Green, Defender, Western Illinois

Ali Hawkins, Midfielder, North Carolina

Molly Kinsella, Forward, Vanderbilt

Ali Kliment, Defender, Monmouth

Shay Mannino, Goalkeeper, Central Michigan

Katie McDermott, Midfielder, Fordham

Megan Minnix, Midfielder, Charlotte

Alex Morgan, Forward, California

Annika Niemeier, Midfielder, Oklahoma State

Whitney Palmer, Forward, Oklahoma

Nicole Pasciolla, Midfielder, St. John's (N.Y.)

Mollie Patton, Goalkeeper, South Carolina

Christen Press, Forward, Stanford

Katherine Sheeleigh, Forward, Harvard

Katherine Sheeleigh, Forward, Harvard

Rachel Shipley, Midfielder, Texas A&M

Lina Staropoli, Midfielder, Loyola (Maryland)

Vendula Strnadova, Midfielder, Memphis

Danielle Toney, Forward, Penn State

Jessica Tsao, Defender, Portland