Feb. 22, 2011

LOS ANGELES - LMU senior outfielder Jennifer Nayudu has been selected as one of 30 candidates for the 2011 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, it has been announced. Nayudu is the first softball player in LMU history to be considered for the honor, which recognizes senior student-athletes who excel both on and off the field.

A Dean's List student in each of her nine semesters, Nayudu (Carlsbad, Calif.) became the ninth student-athlete in school history to earn ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American honors as she was named to the second team in 2010. She has been a member of the Pacific Coast Softball Conference Commissioner's honor roll, as well as being a National Scholar Athlete in each of her three years. In 2009 and 2010, she served as the softball team's representative on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. Nayudu maintains a 3.81 GPA as a double major in economics and business administration and is an active member in campus honors societies, including the Delta Epsilon Iota Honor Society and Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honors Society. In 2009-10, she was named the Economics Department Micro Economist of the Year. Nayudu also participates in the Finance Society, Economics Society and the National Society of Collegiate Honors while serving as an academic tutor in economics, finance and accounting.

Nayudu had a break-out year in 2010, earning First Team All-Pacific Coast Softball Conference Coastal Division honors. A career .233 hitter entering last year, Nayudu batted .345 her junior season. She added eight doubles, one home run, nine RBI and 19 runs scored as LMU's ninth-hole hitter. She hit .361 during conference play and tied for the team lead with four three-hit games. Her achievements earned her the LMU Female Most Improved Athlete of the Year award at the Iggy Awards.

To be eligible for the Lowe's Senior CLASS 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 2011 candidate class includes 21 student-athletes with cumulative grade point averages of better than a 3.0. Thirteen are from teams ranked in the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason top 25 poll, and seven players competed in the NCAA Women's College World Series® last season. Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the winner April 3 at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

ABOUT THE LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS AWARD
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement 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. Sportscaster Dick Enberg, honorary chair of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, first conceived the idea of an award for seniors in 2001 in response to the growing trend of men's basketball players leaving school early for the NBA. The award program has expanded from men's and women's basketball to include 10 NCAA Division I sports. The award is sponsored by Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, and is managed by Premier Sports Management.

ABOUT LOWE'S
With fiscal year 2009 sales of $47.2 billion, Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE® 50 company that serves approximately 15 million customers a week at more than 1,725 home improvement stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Founded in 1946 and based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe's is the second largest home improvement retailer in the world. Lowe's is an Official Corporate Partner of the NCAA.