Dec. 12, 2008

FRISCO, Texas - Wake Forest senior midfielder Sam Cronin was honored for his work in the classroom, in the community and on the soccer field on Friday night as he was named the winner of the 2008 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in the men's soccer division. Cronin was chosen by a nationwide vote of coaches, media and fans.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award has become the nation's premier tribute to college seniors. The criteria for the award include excellence in the classroom, character and community, as well as competition on the field. This is the second season that the award has been presented to a men's soccer senior. Evan Barnes of the United States Naval Academy won the award in 2007.

A native of Winston-Salem, Cronin has developed into one of the top midfielders in college soccer. Cronin has twice earned first team All-ACC accolades and was recently named as one of three finalists for the 2008 M.A.C. Hermann Trophy. Cronin is the all-time leader in games played and started at Wake Forest as he started all 98 games as a Demon Deacon. A two-year captain for Wake Forest, Cronin led the Deacons to the 2007 national title and to three consecutive College Cup appearances.

Cronin also excels in the classroom as he will graduate in December with a degree in political science. A 2007 ESPN The Magazine All-District honoree, Cronin has maintained a 3.295 grade point average and has been named to the Dean's List five times during his academic career. He also is a three-time member of the ACC Honor Roll.

Not only is Cronin a great student, he also is extremely active in the Winston-Salem community. He has volunteered countless hours for community service projects such as Eat with the Deacs, Ronald McDonald House, Read Across America and Athletes Supporting Athletes. Cronin has been a member of the Wake Forest Student Athlete-Advisory Committee since 2006 and served as the Wake Forest ACC SAAC representative in 2006 and 2007.

The origination of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award can be traced to legendary broadcaster Dick Enberg, who first conceived the idea of an award for seniors in 2001 in response to the growing trend of men's basketball players leaving school early for the NBA.

The award was expanded by Lowe's, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, in 2007 to include NCAA Division I men's and women's soccer, men's ice hockey, men's lacrosse, baseball and softball. Football was added in 2008 to bring the total of NCAA sports to nine.

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