Maryland guard Shay Doron and Navy forward Kate Hobbs both are considered leaders and garner a lot of respect among their respective teammates and coaches.
Both senior women?s basketball players also have received praise for their work in the classroom and off the court in a day and age where many athletes are making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Doron and Hobbs? efforts have not gone unnoticed outside of College Park and Annapolis as both players are among 10 finalists for the Lowe?s Senior CLASS Award.
Presented annually since 2002, the CLASS ? or Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ? award recognizes an NCAA Division I male and female senior basketball player who excels on the court, in the classroom and in the community.
A national media committee from an original list of 30 semifinalists selected the finalists. Voting for the eventual winner will take place during the NCAA tournament by coaches, media members and basketball fans at a soon-to-be-announced Web site. The winners will be announced during the Final Four weekends.
“Kate is a player that excels in so many areas,” Navy coach Tom Marryott said. “She is a team captain and has so much on her plate, yet doesn?t let any one area drop.”
Hobbs, an economics major who carries a 3.17 cumulative GPA, has been volunteering at hospitals since she was a youth and spent part of her 2006 summer interning at nearby Bethesda Naval Hospital.
On the court, Hobbs is one of five players in school history to record more than 900 points, 500 rebounds and 50 blocked shots in a career.
“It?s a complete honor to even be mentioned for an award with players like Shay Doron,” Hobbs said. “I?m excited just to be a part of it because these are the players I played with on AAU and are now on TV all the time.”
Doron is the second leading scorer all-time in Maryland history. The criminal justice major has served as a team representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and is considered a key player in the Terps national titlerun last year. Doron has also started 115 games in a Maryland uniform, two behind Marche Strickland (1999-2002) for the school record.
CLASS NOTES
» Along with Navy?s Kate Hobbs and Maryland?s Shay Doron, the list of women?s finalists includes Alison Bales and Lindsey Harding (Duke), Amanda Brown (Penn State), Jessica Davenport (Ohio State), Dee Davis (Vanderbilt), Katie Gearlds (Purdue), Ivory Latta (North Carolina) and Shay Murphy (USC).
