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Harvard's Sheeleigh Named Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award Finalist
Courtesy Harvard Athletic Communications
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Senior forward Katherine
Sheeleigh of the Harvard women’s soccer team has
been honored as one of 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior
CLASS Award for displaying both on-field and off-field
excellence.
The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30
women’s candidates that were announced in August. Nationwide
fan voting begins immediately to determine the winner. Fans are
encouraged to vote via the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award website
through November 14. Fan votes will be combined with media and
coaches votes to determine the winner. The winner will be announced
at the Women's College Cup in December.
“The finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in
men’s and women’s soccer are in the midst of great
final seasons,” said Tom Lamb, Lowe’s senior vice
president of marketing. “They are committed to finishing
their collegiate careers in a strong way both on the field and in
the classroom, and we are excited for their successes as they wrap
up outstanding seasons.Ӊ۬
Sheeleigh, a native of New Vernon, N.J., is the only Ivy League
player among the finalists. One of the most decorated players in
recent Harvard women’s soccer history, Sheeleigh is a
three-time All-Ivy League honoree, having been named to the first
team her first three years in Cambridge. This fall, Sheeleigh
ranks 12th in the nation with 2.0 points per game and stands 35th
with 0.71 goals-per contest. She is tied for the team lead with
five goals and paces the squad with 14 points in only seven
games.
The Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2007, she has been tabbed to
the National Soccer Coaches Association of America all-region team
three times, as well as the New England Women’s
Intercollegiate Soccer Association All-New England team once. She
has helped Harvard win back-to-back Ivy League titles and reach the
NCAA tournament in 2008 and 2009.
As a junior, she led Harvard in scoring with 21 points on eight
goals and five assists, pacing the squad with four game-winning
tallies. In 2008, Sheeleigh was second on the Crimson with six
goals and 17 points and was the team’s leading scorer as a
freshman in 2007 with eight goals and 16 points. Sheeleigh enters
her senior season ranked tied for seventh in program history with
22 goals and stands ninth with 54 points.
In the classroom, Sheeleigh is an economics concentrator and will
graduate in May 2010. In 2009, she was named to the Academic
All-Ivy League team, as well as the ESPN The Magazine Academic
All-District third team. She has decided to pursue a career in
physical therapy and has volunteered as an aide at JAG Physical
Therapy in New Jersey during the summer of 2009 and 2010.
A co-captain of the Crimson this upcoming fall, Sheeleigh has
overcome several injuries during her career at Harvard, while still
maintaining an all-conference level of play on the field. During
the winter of her freshman year, she suffered a stress fracture in
her left ankle, causing her to miss all of the spring season. She
also tore her hamstring as a junior, greatly impacting her ability
to play in the last few regular season games, as well as the first
round of the NCAA tournament. In addition, Sheeleigh was diagnosed
with cerebral palsy as an infant and was unable to move the left
side of her body. She went through intense physical therapy, which
is why she has such a strong desire to pursue a career in the
physical therapy field, for the first seven years of her
life. Sheeleigh also suffered a bout with dyslexia, but has
made huge improvements in both cases, not letting either disease
impact her academic or athletic careers.
In January 2010, Sheeleigh traveled to the Republic of the Marshall
Islands, working in a volunteer internship with the Ministry of
Education. She worked with high school students, preparing
them for the rigors of higher education abroad, including
preparation for a test of English as a foreign language.
Working in the pioneering year of the College Access Program in
this developing nation, Sheeleigh tailored test-taking strategies
for students and organized weekly college preparation meetings and
one-on-one advising conversations with students at the largest
public high school in the Marshall Islands.
Sheeleigh also worked as a teaching assistant for a class of
seniors at Marshall Islands High School, creating ESL-specific
lesson plans and further developing her teaching skills in a
multi-leveled classroom. She assessed student progress, while
employing classroom management practices and incorporating diverse
teaching strategies using limited resources. In addition, she is
very active as a volunteer for the Children’s Tumor
Foundation. In February 2010, she volunteered in Daytona, Fla., for
the neurofibromatosis event “Racing4Research,” and
during the summer of 2010, volunteered at “NF Camp” as
a counselor at Camp Kostopoulos in Utah.
Finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS
Award
Callan Elswick, Forward, Davidson
Lauren Fowlkes, Defender/Midfielder, Notre Dame
Ali Hawkins, Midfielder, North Carolina
Molly Kinsella, Forward, Vanderbilt
Shay Mannino, Goalkeeper, Central Michigan
Nicole Pasciolla, Midfielder, St. John’s
Christen Press, Forward, Stanford
Katherine Sheeleigh, Forward, Harvard
Rachel Shipley, Midfielder, Texas A&M
Jessica Tsao, Defender, Portland
