March 29, 2010

By Brian Davis, Assistant Media Relations Director

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Tennessee senior catcher/first baseman Tiffany Huff has made the cut as one of 10 Division I finalists for the 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Softball Award. The trophy will be presented to a D-I softball athlete that excels on as well as off the field of play.

The 2010 finalists are: Chelsea Bramlett, Mississippi State University; Francesca Enea, University of Florida; Alissa Haber, Stanford University; Becca Heteniak, DePaul University; Tiffany Huff, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Molly Johnson, University of Kentucky; Megan Langenfeld, University of California, Los Angeles; Charlotte Morgan, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; Nikki Nemitz, University of Michigan; and Nicole Pauly, Northwestern University.

These 10 names have been placed on the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award softball ballot for a nationwide vote beginning today and concluding May 17. Fan balloting is available on the award's official Web site, http://www.seniorCLASSaward.com, as well as through text messaging. Fans can text SOFTBALL to 74567 to vote for the finalists. These votes will be combined with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient of the award. The award winner will be announced and recognized in June at the 2010 NCAA ® Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

The Saugus, Calif., native joins former Lady Vols Lindsay Schutzler (2007), Megan Rhodes (2008) and Lillian Hammond (2009) as past nominees for the national honor. Each of the previous UT trio also survived the mid-season cut to 10 finalists.

A member of the 2010 Watch List for the prestigious USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year award, Huff has opened her senior campaign hitting .369 overall over 32 starts with five doubles, three home runs, 25 RBIs, and a team-leading 30 walks to help her to a .526 on-base percentage. A fixture behind the plate for the Big Orange, she has played 29 games behind the dish this season and posted six multi-hit and five multi-RBI games. Huff recently joined former Lady Vols Tonya Callahan and Schutzler as the only Tennessee players in program history to boast 200 career hits and 200 career RBIs in their time clad in the Orange & White.

Lowe's presented the inaugural softball award at the conclusion of the 2007 season with Arizona's Caitlin Lowe receiving the honor. Virginia Tech's Angela Tincher and Florida's Stacey Nelson took home the 2008 and 2009 awards, respectively.

Candidates for the 2010 honor were selected based on personal qualities that define a complete student athlete through extensive nominations submitted by their sports information contacts. While the on-the-field performance during their collegiate softball careers is a factor in determining candidates and the eventual winner, personal character and off-the-field achievements in the classroom and community are major areas of focus. CLASS is an acronym representing "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School." The award, presented to NCAA Division I student-athletes each year, focuses on the "Four C's" of classroom, character, community and competition.

The award was launched during the 2001-02 season in response to the trend of college basketball players leaving college early to turn professional. Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, expanded the award program 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. It was conceived by sportscaster Dick Enberg, who continues to serve as Honorary Chairman. The Senior CLASS honor was inspired by the remarkable story of former Duke star Shane Battier, who could have been an NBA lottery pick but returned to college for his senior season, led the Blue Devils to the national championship in 2001 and earned his college degree.