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OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (seniorCLASSaward.com) – Thirty NCAA softball student-athletes, who excel both on and off the field, were selected as candidates today for the 2013 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate softball. Virginia Tech’s Courtney Liddle is one of the 30 to make the cut for the prestigious 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.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the 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 2013 candidate class includes 15 candidates who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher. Six were named to the CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-American team, and seven were members of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America team.

Liddle is one of the top players in program history who enters this weekend ranked first in school history in career on base percentage (.464), second in career home runs (26), second in career walks (109), tied for first in career hit by pitch (23), second in career slugging percentage (.563), tied for sixth in career batting average (.316), tied for 10th in career doubles (34) and seventh in career RBIs (105). You can read Liddle’s Senior CLASS bio here.

The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those names 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 Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2013 NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City May 30 through June 5.

Former Hokie great Angela Tincher won this award following her senior campaign in 2008.

For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.

The Softball Candidates
Emily Allard, Northwestern
Brooke Andresen, Loyola (Chicago)
Nikki Armagost, Pacific
Jennifer Barnett, Northern Illinois
B.B. Bates, UCLA
Kayla Braud, Alabama
Amy Buntin, Notre Dame
Allie Cashion, Appalachian State
Raven Chavanne, Tennessee
Kelly Coker, Rhode Island
Kara Dill, Kentucky
Kara Dornbos, Central Michigan
Rachele Fico, LSU
Olivia Galati, Hofstra
Mikkel Griffin, Southern Utah
Jolene Henderson, California
Kelsey Horton, Florida
Maggie Hull, Kansas
Shannon Jones, Siena
Courtney Liddle, Virginia Tech
Blaire Luna, Texas
Kelly Majam, Hawai’i
Jenna Marston, Missouri
Jennifer Ong, Yale
Jenna Rich, Stanford
Keilani Ricketts, Oklahoma
Emily Roesch, Boston
Jessica Shults, Oklahoma
Stephanie Thompson, Brown
Brianna Turang, Oklahoma

For updates on Virginia Tech softball, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Softball).