Feb. 20, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame softball player Amy Buntin has been nominated as a candidate for the 2013 Senior CLASS Award.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and exemplify achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 30 initial candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season. Final ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system where media members, coaches and fans will select a finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the areas of community, classroom, character and competition.
Buntin (Franklin, Tenn./Brentwood) is one of two senior captains on the 2013 Notre Dame softball team. A 2012 National Fastpitch Coaches Association second team All-America selection, Buntin batted .360 with 62 hits, 12 home runs, 60 RBI and 45 runs in 55 starts last season. She ranked among the top three in the BIG EAST Conference in hits (24), RBI (20) and runs scored (18) during league play. Buntin was also tabbed as an NFCA all-region first team and all-BIG EAST second team choice in 2012.
She is a two-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star, and entered the spring semester carrying a 3.11 cumulative grade-point average in Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters. Buntin is majoring in psychology and pre-professional health, with a focus in pre-health, and plans to apply to dental school after graduation.
Buntin was a member of the 2011 Notre Dame team that helped raise and donate over $12,000 to the South Bend Memorial Hospital pediatric oncology unit. The Irish raised more money during the NFCA StrikeOut Cancer initiative than any other school in the country. Buntin and her Notre Dame teammates shattered that mark in 2012, presenting a check for more than $25,000 raised during StrikeOut Cancer to the South Bend Memorial Hospital hematology and oncology clinic. The Irish later made a special visit to the Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis in September 2012, donating gifts and apparel that had been collected with the help of the University’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to cancer patients.
The 2013 Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the NCAA Women’s College World Series, May 30 through June 5 in Oklahoma City, Okla.
For more information on all 30 candidates, please visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
2013 Senior CLASS Award Softball Candidates
Emily Allard, Northwestern
Brooke Andresen, Loyola (Chicago)
Nikki Armagost, Pacific
Jennifer Barnett, Northern Illinois
B.B. Bates, UCLA
Kayla Braud, Alabama
Amy Buntin, Notre Dame
Allie Cashion, Appalachian State
Raven Chavanne, Tennessee
Kelly Coker, Rhode Island
Kara Dill, Kentucky
Kara Dornbos, Central Michigan
Rachele Fico, LSU
Olivia Galati, Hofstra
Mikkel Griffin, Southern Utah
Jolene Henderson, California
Kelsey Horton, Florida
Maggie Hull, Kansas
Shannon Jones, Siena
Courtney Liddle, Virginia Tech
Blaire Luna, Texas
Kelly Majam, Hawai’i
Jenna Marston, Missouri
Jennifer Ong, Yale
Jenna Rich, Stanford
Keilani Ricketts, Oklahoma
Emily Roesch, Boston
Jessica Shults, Oklahoma
Stephanie Thompson, Brown
Brianna Turang, Oklahoma
–ND–