University of Albany Lacrosse's Garrett Pedley Among Thirty Candidates for 2009 Lowe's Senior Class Award - UAlbany Sports 2009

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Kansas City, Mo. – University at Albany’s Garrett Pedley is among thirty NCAA® lacrosse student-athletes who strive to make a difference in their classroom, their communities and on their field of competition. He has been identified as a 2009 candidate for the lacrosse division of the Lowe’s Senior Class Award, as announced on Thursday, March 5.

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.

Pedley, a senior defenseman from Bow, N.H., will play in his 50th career game on Friday when the Great Danes host Delaware at John Fallon Field. Game time is 4:00 p.m. The UAlbany captain led a defense that ranked 11th nationally last year at 7.69 goals allowed per game. He is the school’s America East Conference representative to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

Lowe’s, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA®, expanded the award program beyond men’s and women’s basketball in 2007 to include six additional NCAA® Division I sports - men’s and women’s soccer, men’s ice hockey, men’s lacrosse, baseball, and softball. With the addition of football (Bowl Subdivision) this year, the number of sports encompassed by the nation’s premier award for seniors has expanded to nine.

This marks the third year for the men’s lacrosse division of the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. Syracuse University attack and team captain Mike Leveille took home the award in 2008 and Cornell University goalkeeper Matt McMonagle was the inaugural winner in 2007.

The list of 30 student-athletes will be narrowed down to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those names will then be placed on the official ballot. The ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans. The award winner will be announced and presented with his trophy at the 2009 NCAA® Men’s Lacrosse Championship in Foxborough, Massachusetts.