Softball's Enea Selected as a Finalist for Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Monday, March 29, 2010 | Softball
University of Florida's Francesca Enea (Woodland Hills, Calif.) was named one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for softball. Nationwide balloting begins immediately to determine the fourth annual winner, who will receive the award during the NCAA Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla.
The CLASS Award stands for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. The Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages those leaders to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact.
The finalists were chosen from a list of 30 candidates. 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: Classroom, Character, Community, and Competition.
Fan balloting, available on the award's official website www.seniorclassaward.com and by texting SOFTBALL to 74567, will be combined with votes from coaches, media and sponsors to determine the winner.
Enea, a two-time All-American, has excelled both on and off the field. A Youth, Family and Community Science major, she is a three-time Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll student. On the field, Enea has helped power the Gators to two Women's College World Series appearances, two SEC regular-season and tournament titles and an NCAA-record 70 wins in 2008. She is Florida all-time leader in single-season and career home runs, RBIs, sacrifice flies and tied for the single-season slugging percentage record. Her 55 career home runs are currently second in the Southeastern Conference record books and her 197 RBIs is fourth. She currently leads the team with a .395 batting clip and leads the league with 14 home runs.
The left fielder was named to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Preseason Watch List and to the All-SEC preseason team. She was also named SEC Player of the Week on March 8 for her stellar performance at the DeMarini Tournament in Fullerton, Calif., which included hitting three grand slams in three days.
Throughout her time in Gainesville, Enea has donated her time and energy off the field where she is needed. As a junior, she created and organized the Swing for Cancer event, which gave fans a chance to watch Florida student-athletes and coaches try to hit against Florida's All-American pitchers while raising money for cancer initiatives. She was also the co-chair of the Climb for Cancer Sport Camps, an event in which children diagnosed with cancer come to UF for the day to play with current and former Gators. In 2009, she researched and implemented a plan to “adopt” a 13-year-old girl with a brain tumor through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. She took it upon herself to plan the ceremony, which took place before a fall game, and continues to find new ways to raise money and awareness for the cause.
For her leadership, community service and commitment to excellence on and off the field, Enea was honored as a semifinalist for the Wooden Cup Award in the fall of 2009. Last season, she was named to the SEC Community Service team as a junior and earned a Point of Light Award.
In 2009, former Gators Stacey Nelson became Florida's first Lowe's Senior CLASS Award winner and was soon followed by baseball's Brandon MacArthur. This past fall, Tim Tebow earned the award in the football venue bringing Florida's tally to three student-athletes.
2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Finalists:
| Name | Position | School |
| Chelsea Bramlett | Catcher | Mississippi State |
| Francesca Enea | Outfield | Florida |
| Alissa Haber | Outfield | Stanford |
| Becca Heteniak | Pitcher/Designed Player | DePaul |
| Tiffany Huff | First Base | Tennessee |
| Molly Johnson | Shortstop | Kentucky |
| Megan Langenfeld | First Base | UCLA |
| Charlotte Morgan | Pitcher/First Base/DP | Alabama |
| Nikki Nemitz | Pitcher | Michigan |
| Nicole Pauly | Second Base | Northwestern |
