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Benningfield Selected As Candidate for Senior Class Award 1-12-04 1/12/2004 Vanderbilt senior basketball player Jenni Benningfield has been chosen as one of 31 nominees for the Senior CLASS award presented annually to the top senior male and female Division I Player-of-the-Year. The award, with an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School (CLASS), was developed to honor seniors for completing their collegiate eligibility in response to the current trend of players leaving school early to turn professional. Benningfield, a Louisville, Ky., native, has already been added to the preseason watch lists for the Wooden Award, the Wade Trophy and the Naismith Player of the Year award, while being chosen to the Southeastern Conference’s preseason All-SEC first team. The 6’3″ forward is currently battling a stress fracture in her right foot that has caused her to miss the lion’s share of Vanderbilt’s last three games. She saw no action against Savannah State (a 91-40 VU win) and played an average of just 5.5 minutes as the Black and Gold went 1-1 overall against Kentucky (65-57) and Florida (61-67) to open Southeastern Conference play. Despite her injury and recent inaction, she still ranks second on the team in scoring at 15.3 ppg and second in rebounding at 6.9 ppg, due to an impressive opening to her campaign. In Vanderbilt’s first 12 games, Benningfield reached double-figures all 12 times, and posted three double-doubles, while helping the ‘Dores race off to a 10-0 start and a national ranking. Against her hometown school, the Louisville Cardinals, in the final of the Vanderbilt Tournament, Benningfield torched the ‘Cards for the SEC’s highest-scoring game of the year with a career-best 34 points on 13-of-20 shooting. In VU’s 74-61 win over Rhode Island at the Gatorade Holiday Classic in Miami, Fla., she tallied 31 points and 13 rebounds. The performance against the Rams garnered the forward her first career SEC Player of the Week nod (Dec. 29th). #NR/22 Vanderbilt will return to action this Sunday when it hosts the #21/NR Auburn Tigers at Memorial Gym. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 pm and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2 with analysts Dave O’Brien and Nancy Lieberman. Benningfield and Davis remain injured but are available for very limited action. |
