Oct. 17, 2008

Center Valley, Pa.- Army senior goalkeeper A.J. Glubzinski and Navy senior goalkeeper Lizzie Barnes have been named finalists in the men's soccer and women's soccer divisions, respectively, for the 2008 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, the organization announced Thursday. Finalists were selected from a list of 30 candidates in each division, based on personal qualities that define a complete student-athlete.

Glubzinski and Barnes are both one of 10 finalists in each division whose names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote that began Oct. 16 and will conclude Nov. 19. Votes from coaches and media will be coupled with fan balloting to determine the recipient of the award. Fans can vote online during this time period by clicking here.

An acronym 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 on their circle of influence. This marks the second year for both soccer divisions.

Army's Glubzinski is the senior captain and starting goalkeeper for the Cadets, and is among the Patriot League leaders in goals-against average, saves, save percentage and saves per game.

An American Politics with Honors major, Glubzinski has earned a 4.001 cumulative grade-point average at West Point, and is a candidate for both the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships.

Glubzinski also interned with a social outreach program called "First Helping" during the summer of 2008, where he served daily meals and provided social services to homeless and low-income individuals in the greater Washington, D.C. area. The senior is also a founder of CURED, the Campaign Urging Research for Eosinophilic Diseas, and a bowl-a-thon to contribute to research on the rare digestive disease incurred by a high school classmate. Glubzinski also aspires to be the mayor of Detroit.

Navy's Lizzie Barnes

This season, Navy's Barnes owns a 0.76 goals-against average in 13 games played, with a 0.842 save percentage and four shutouts. Barnes is currently Navy's and the Patriot League's all-time goals-against average leader at 0.67, has twice earned Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week honors this season, and is tied for fourth all-time on the Patriot League list for career goalie shutouts with 25.

Barnes boasts a 3.86 cumulative grade-point average at the Naval Academy, double-majoring in information technology and computer science.

Barnes has also been active in the soccer team's many community service projects, including clinics with Special Olympics children, Toys for Tots, and an annual spring fundraiser to raise money for breast cancer awareness. Additionally, she has volunteered at Light House, an Annapolis-area homeless shelter.

"Lowe's is incredibly proud to announce the 2008 finalist class for men's and women's soccer," said Bob Gfeller, Lowe's Senior Vice President of Marketing and Advertising. "These 20 student-athletes represent all that is great about collegiate athletics. Each is to be admired for their commitment and dedication not only to soccer, but to the classroom and their community."

In addition to Barnes, the other nine women's finalists are: Yael Averbuch (University of North Carolina), Stefanie Baduria (Loyola Marymount University), Brittany Bock (University of Notre Dame), Jenae Gibbens (Cal State Fullerton), Candace Gonzales (Georgia State University), Kerry Hanks (University of Notre Dame), Molly Johnson (Clemson University), Christie McDonald (Duke University) and Yolanda Odenyo (Oklahoma State University).

In addition to Glubzinski, the other men's finalists are: Matt Besler (University of Notre Dame), Sam Cronin (Wake Forest University), Dylan Curtis (University of California Davis), Michael Fucito (Harvard University), Adam Gartner (Eastern Illinois University), Garret Guthrie (University of Missouri- Kansas City), Yohance Marshall (University of South Florida), Dylan Sheehan (Brown University) and O'Brian White (University of Connecticut).