Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Lucy Charuk Named Candidate For 2011 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award


UH Senior One Of 30 Finalists For Prestigious Award



Houston – University of Houston middle blocker Lucy Charuk was named one of 30 NCAA® women’s volleyball student-athletes selected as candidates today for the 2011 Lowe’s Senior CLASS 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.



The Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, 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.



Lucy Charuk Nomination Bio



CLASSROOM:

Lucy Charuk is a member of the University of Houston College of Technology and will earn a degree in Consumer Sciences and Merchandising. Entering her senior season she needs 15 hours to complete her degree and plans to graduate in the spring of 2012. During the spring 2011 semester, Lucy contributed to the team’s 3.37 GPA by completing 18 hours with a 3.49 GPA. In addition to her strong performance in the classroom, Lucy is also an extremely talented artist.



CHARACTER:

From head coach Molly Alvey:

In my one year with Lucy, she has shown an amazing development in leadership, character and personal motivation.  Leadership has been demanded of her from the staff, and she has emerged as both a leader by example and vocally.  Her personality has poured out whilegaining confidence and strength from her role on the team. 



Her weakest area of leadership was evident in her studies.  She made it a priority to get on track academically and show her team her level of commitment to it.  After one semester, she jumped to a 3.49 GPA, only one hundredth of a point from the Dean’s List.  In turn, she has shared this experience with her teammates and has posed as an example to them of what motivation can produce.  This lesson, coming from a peer is invaluable to a team and translates to experiences both on and off the court.  She is the centerpiece to thisteam and every player recognizes her in this role.  She is the friend,enforcer, team organizer, mentor, leader, and captain within this program.



COMMUNITY:

During the past year Lucy has served as an Emerging Leader in the Cougar Pride Leadership Academy. The Emerging Leader program is designed for selected sophomore andjunior student-athletes and provides current and future team captains with insights, strategies and skills necessary to become effective leaders on their team, on campus and in the community.



In addition, Lucy makes regular visits to Texas Children’s Hospital with her teammates to visit with patients. She also assisted at Camp Lawrenz, which was held at Spring Woods Middle School in Houston. The camp’s purpose is to raise interest and focus for cancer research, especially lung and breast cancer. The camp is named for Dawn Lawrenz, a coach and physical educator who passed away in 2007 from complications from lung cancer. Lucy also volunteers in the summer at the Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition feeding birds.



During her summer playing with the Canadian National Team, Lucy participated in Sneakers In Motion. It was a campaign to raise awareness of the importance of physical activity.



COMPETITION:

Lucy is a decorated volleyball player at the University of Houston. During her three-year career Lucy has been named to the All-Conference USA First Team as a sophomore and junior. In addition she is a two-time AVCA All-American Honorable Mention and an AVCA Midwest All-Region Team selection. During the summer of 2011, Lucy traveled to Canada and earned a spot on the Canadian Senior National Team where she competed in the Pan-American Cup in Chihuahua, Mexico.



The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10named 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 finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The winner will be announced during the 2011 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship, which will be played December 15 and 17 in San Antonio.



Women’s Volleyball Candidates

Rachael Adams, Middle Blocker, Texas

Kendall Bateman, Setter, Southern California

Suzy Boulavsky, Right Side/Opposite Hitter, Oklahoma

Michelle Burow, Middle Blocker, Northern Iowa

Lane Carico, Outside Hitter, Miami (Fla.)

KellieCatanach, Setter, Duke

Lucy Charuk, Middle Blocker, Houston

KananiDanielson, Outside Hitter, Hawaii

SophiaDunworth, Middle Blocker/Outside Hitter, Duke

KaylieGibson, Libero, North Carolina

Sarah Havel, Middle Blocker, College of Charleston

Kim Hill, Middle Blocker/Opposite Hitter, Pepperdine

Kristin Hoffman, Setter, Northern Illinois

Mary Elizabeth Hooper, Setter, Wichita State

Alex Hunt, Outside Hitter, Michigan

Kayla Jeter, Outside Hitter, Tennessee

KelseyJewasko, Libero, Texas-San Antonio

Liz McArthur, Outside Hitter, Utah State

Kelly Murphy, Setter/Right Side, Florida

Tarah Murrey, Outside Hitter, California

Dana Powell, Outside Hitter, Southern Methodist

Darlene Ramdin, Outside/Middle Hitter, St. John’s (NY)

Jenilee Rathje, Outside/Middle Blocker, Michigan State

StaceySchmidt, Right Side/Middle Blocker, UC Santa Barbara

Tanya Schmidt, Middle Blocker, Santa Clara

Betsy Sedlak, Middle Blocker, UC Davis

KelseaSeymour, Setter, Southern Mississippi

ReginaThomas, Middle Blocker, Mississippi

HannahVeith, Middle Blocker, Robert Morris

Vineece Verdun, Middle Blocker, Georgia State



ABOUT THE AWARD

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty andAchievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring. The award is sponsored by Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, and is managed by Premier Sports Management. 

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