OU's Maria Villarroel Finalist For Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award

Sooner guard one of 31 and one of five Big 12 candidates up for the award.

KANSAS CITY, MO - University of Oklahoma senior Maria Villarroel (Margarita, Venezuela) is on the final list of candidates for the third annual Senior CLASS Award, presented annually to the nation's Senior Player of the Year for NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball. The Senior CLASS Award - an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School - and now has Bayer Advantage has the title sponsor.

Villarroel, a guard, is one of 31 and one of five Big 12 candidates selected Thursday, as announced by the awards organizing committee. She leads the Sooner in scoring (14.9 ppg) and boasts the best field goal percentage of 57.6 percent (68-of-118). She also ranks fourth in rebounds with 5.1 boards per outing. Villarroel has recorded double digits in scoring in 11 of OU's 12 games and has grabbed four-plus rebounds in all but one contest. She opened the season hitting her first 17 attempts from at the free throw strip and has produced a field goal percentage of 50 percent or better in nine contests.

The award was launched during the 2001-02 season in response to the recent trend of college basketball players leaving school early to turn professional, and was developed to honor seniors for completing their collegiate athletic eligibility. There are 31 female and 31 male recipients for this prestigious award. Villarroel is one of five seniors from Big 12 women's basketball up for the honor, joining Tera Bjorklund (Colorado), Nicole Ohlde (Kansas State), Jia Perkins (Texas Tech) and Stacy Stephens (Texas).

The initial idea came from CBS sportscaster Dick Enberg three years ago (during the 2001-02 season), who now serves as Honorary Chairman of the award. It became reality when the Kansas City Club agreed to present the award and serve as host organization for the culminating event last year.

The formation of the Senior CLASS Award was developed in response to the recent trend of college basketball players leaving college early to turn professional. Selection criteria is based on a number of factors, the most important being that the recipient must have exhausted their four years of eligibility and have fulfilled their commitment to their respective university. In addition, the recipient must be working toward their degree, be in good academic standing and be of sound moral character.

The performances of the "Players to Watch" for both men and women will be tracked during the season. From that pool of players, a national committee of sportscasters and sportswriters who cover college basketball on the Division I level will select 10 finalists for the female and male awards. The men's and women's award winner will be based on the cumulative ballots of the national media committee, college basketball coaches and nation-wide fan balloting.

The two winners will be announced during the respective NCAA Final Four events in April. The men's winner will be announced by Enberg during the NCAA Men's Final Four in San Antonio, while the women's winner will be announced during the NCAA Women's Final Four in New Orleans.

At the same time, the Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award also will announce First Team and Second Team Senior All-America Teams, based on results from the balloting.

The winners will be presented with their awards during the CLASS Tribute Gala hosted by the Pride of Kansas City Foundation on April 30, 2004. three weeks following the Final Fours.

The inaugural award winners in 2001-02 were Juan Dixon (Maryland) and Sue Bird (Connecticut), while last year's recipients were David West (Xavier) and LaToya Thomas (Mississippi State).

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU's Maria Villarroel Finalist For Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award

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