Clausen Named a Finalist for Lowe's Senior CLASS Award

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Virginia men’s lacrosse player Ken Clausen has been tabbed as a finalist for the 2010 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award and is one of 10 NCAA men’s lacrosse student-athletes who excel both on and off the field to be recognized. 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, 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. The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 20 candidates who were announced in February.

Clausen, a native of Downington, Pa., is a three-time All-American and has been named to the first-team the past two seasons, after helping UVa to back-to-back Final Four appearances. In 2010, the senior captain is No. 2 in the nation with 2.67 caused turnovers per game and the close defenseman is No. 43 nationally with 3.89 ground balls per game.

Clausen initiated a new fundraiser that swept through the lacrosse nation last fall. During the month of November, he put together a contest titled Mustache Madness to generate funds for prostate cancer research and awareness. The cause helped raise almost $32,000. Clausen captained the Fans of Virginia Lacrosse that won the Mad Stache Trophy for the highest fund raising fans.

Lowe’s, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the 2010 Senior CLASS Award winner at the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore May 29-31.

The 2010 finalists are: Gavin Buckley, St. John’s; Ken Clausen, Virginia; Pierce Derkac, Cornell; Jason Duboe, Harvard; Ridge Flick, U.S. Air Force Academy; Andrew Maisano, U.S. Military Academy; Thomas Muldoon, Brown; Max Quinzani, Duke; Scott Rodgers, Notre Dame, and Kyle Wimer, UMBC.

These 10 names will be placed on the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award lacrosse ballot for a nationwide vote beginning today and concluding May 17. Fan balloting is available on the award’s official web site, click here to vote, as well as through text messaging. Fans can text L2 to 74567 to vote for the Clausen. These votes will be combined with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient
of the award.

“The sport of lacrosse is gaining popularity in different regions of the country, and these student-athletes that represent the sport are part of that reason,” said Tom Lamb, Lowe’s senior vice president of marketing. “Their strong commitment to not only the sport but also the integrity of being a student-athlete will help this sport become more widely played throughout the United States.”

This marks the fourth year for the men’s lacrosse division of the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. Cornell University midfielder Max Seibald received the award for the 2009 season and Syracuse University attackman Mike Leveille took home the 2008 honor. In 2007, Cornell goalkeeper Matt McMonagle won the inaugural men’s lacrosse award.