Four of the USSSA Pride’s 2012 Draftees are top ten finalists for the 2012 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.
In no particular order, the four Pride Draftee finalists are:
Valerie Arioto (of California State University, Berkeley),
Michelle Moultrie (of the University of Florida),
Christi Orgeron (of the University of Louisianna at Lafayatte), and
Nikia Williams (of the University of Washington).
The top ten finalists were announced on April 4. Fans can vote for a winner now at www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/softball_2012/.
From the NPF:
The NPF is so proud to see 5 of the 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award are 2012 NPF Draftees! They include Valerie Arioto of Cal, Michelle Moultrie of Florida, Nikia Williams of Washington, and Christi Orgeron of Louisiana-Lafayette, (overall draft choices # 8, # 12, # 16 and # 20 respectively by the USSSA Florida Pride) and Stephanie Ricketts of Hawaii (drafted # 10 overall by the Chicago Bandits). The Lowe’s Senior Class Award is given annually to a student-athlete classified as an NCAA Division I senior and has notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. NPF would like to congratulate all 10 finalists for the award and wish each of them the best of luck. Click here to vote for your favorite player. The Lowe’s Senior Class Award has existed since 2007 and has been awarded to an NPF draftee in 4 of its 5 years of existence with Arizona’s Caitlin Lowe becoming the first recipient in 2007. She was followed by Virginia Tech’s Angela Tincher in 2008. Stacey Nelson from the University of Florida received the award in 2009, followed by Alabama’s Charlotte Morgan in 2010. Both Lowe and Morgan currently play for the USSSA Florida Pride.
To see the full release on the 10 Finalists click here
2012 Finalists
(*) Denotes 2012 NPF Draftee
Valerie Arioto- California*
Katelyn Boyd- Arizona State
Mallory Duran-Sellers- Southern Illinois
Julie Fernandez- Lehigh
Ashley Hansen- Stanford
Michelle Moultrie- Florida*
Christi Orgeron- Louisiana Lafayette*
Cassie Reilly-Boccia- Alabama
Stephanie Ricketts- Hawaii*
Nikia Williams- Washington*
Past Winners
(*) Denotes Drafted by NPF Team
2007- Caitlin Lowe- Arizona*
2008- Angela Tincher- Virginia Tech*
2009- Stacey Nelson- Florida*
2010- Charlotte Morgan- Alabama*
2011- Chelsea Kelley- Radford
About USSSA Florida Pride:
The USSSA Florida Pride is a professional franchise in the National Pro Fastpitch League that is owned and operated by USSSA. The amateur organization of USSSA has multi-sport coverage and encompasses teams and players from the United States and abroad.
About NPF:
National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Nashville, TN. The league, created to give elite female fastpitch players the opportunity to pursue a professional career in their chosen sport, has operated since 1997 under the names of Women’s Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women’s Pro Softball League (WPSL). NPF is the Official Development Partner of Major League Baseball in the category of women’s fastpitch softball since 2002.
About USSSA:
The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA), headquartered in Osceola County, Florida, USSSA is the World’s Largest Multi-sport Athletic Organization. Founded in 1968, USSSA has grown to over 3.7 million participants, competing in 13 nationally sanctioned sports including Baseball, Fastpitch, Slow Pitch, Karate, Basketball, Soccer and more! For more information on USSSA and to register your team visit USSSA.com. Also be sure to visit USSSAToday.com for the latest USSSA News!