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Senior CLASS Award Profile
RIVERDALE, NY – Manhattan College senior catcher Elena Bowman (San Mateo, CA) has been selected as one of 10 finalists for the 2016 Senior CLASS® Award. She was chosen by national media from a group of 30 candidates that was announced last month. The 2015 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Player of the Year, Bowman is the first player in MAAC history to be a finalist for the award, which was first presented in 2007.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS® Award is one of the most prestigious honors presented by the NCAA each year. Only NCAA Division I seniors are eligible based on their achievement in the areas of community, classroom, character and competition.
Bowman was named to the Capital One Academic All-America First Team in 2015, becoming the first Jasper to receive that honor since 1994. She's also a two-time MAAC All-Academic Team selection and was a 2015 Capital One Academic All-District Team honoree.
The team captain has never missed a game in her Manhattan career and was behind the plate for every pitch thrown by a Jaspers hurler last year. Bowman has started 167 consecutive contests, including the first 20 of this season.
Along with members of the women's lacrosse and women's soccer teams, she was responsible for bringing the “Love Your Melon” program to campus. “Love Your Melon” was established in 2014 with the goal of providing a beanie to all children battling cancer. More than 45,000 beanies, which is the number of kids fighting cancer nationwide, have already been donated, and “Love Your Melon” has also pledged to donate 15,000 more each year for those newly diagnosed. Half the proceeds go to the affected families, with the other half is used for cancer research.
Last season, Bowman was unanimously selected as MAAC Player of the Year after leading the league in batting average (.448), home runs (16) and RBIs (41), while also ranking among the top 10 nationally in on base percentage (ninth, .586) and slugging percentage (10th, .920). Manhattan's 2014-15 Co-Female Student-Athlete of the Year, she added First Team All-MAAC, First Team All-ECAC and Second Team All-Region honors. The unanimous 2016 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, Bowman was one of 50 players on the preseason “Watch List” for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.
She currently leads the MAAC in batting average (.429), slugging percentage (.776) and on base percentage (.567), to go along with five home runs and 12 RBIs. Bowman was named MAAC Player of the Week on March 22 after belting four homers in three games at the St. John's Invitational. Manhattan's all-time home run leader, she currently has 46 career long balls. Bowman is also second on the Jaspers' all-time RBI list (132).
Fans are eligible to vote once a day at seniorclassaward.com until May 9. The fan vote will be combined with that of the national media and coaches to determine the winner, which will be announced during the NCAA Women's College World Series® from June 2-8.
