ITHACA, N.Y. -- Senior captain defenseman Keir Ross of the Cornell men's hockey team has been named one of 20 national candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

Ross has been a key contributor for a Big Red team that has competed in the NCAA tournament in two of his first three years on campus, including an ECAC Hockey championship in 2010. He is one of the top defensive presences on the team, particularly as a key cog on a penalty-killing unit that has ranked in the top 10 nationally over the past two seasons. His plus-12 rating ranked second on the team in 2010-11, and he was penalized the least of any defenseman despite frequently being matched up against some of the opposition's best forward combinations.

Outside of the rink, Ross is a two-time selection to the ECAC Hockey Academic All-League team and was the Big Red's Hockey Scholar Athlete last season. He was also named to the College of Human Ecology Dean's List in 2010, carrying a 3.57 grade point average in Human Biology, Health and Society. Ross is an assistant researcher for the Cornell Veterinary College and is writing a paper on his study of assessing the utility of a laser scanning imaging technique called multiphoton microscopy. He has been working on a study for more than one year on cartilage image techniques. The project will also be the platform for Ross' senior thesis for Cornell's Nutrition department. He intends on applying for medical school following his graduation.

Ross is one of three players from ECAC Hockey on the list, joining Dartmouth forward Doug Jones and Brown forward Jack Maclellan.

The candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The winner will be announced at the 2012 NCAA Men's Frozen Four, which will be staged April 5-7 in Tampa, Fla.

* View Keir Ross' bio on the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award web site

2012 Lowe's Senior CLASS Men's Ice Hockey Candidates
Chad Billins, Defender, Ferris State
Jack Connolly, Center, Minnesota-Duluth
Tommy Cross, Defender, Boston College
Mike Daly, Defender, Holy Cross
Matt Di Girolamo, Goaltender, New Hampshire
Sean Duddy, Defender, Ohio State
Brad Eidsness, Goaltender, North Dakota
Ryan Flanigan, Forward, Merrimack
Scott Greenham, Goaltender, Alaska-Fairbanks
Chris Haltigin, Defender, RIT
Doug Jones, Forward, Dartmouth
Drew LeBlanc, Forward, St. Cloud State
Sean Lorenz, Defender, Notre Dame
Jack Maclellan, Forward, Brown
Taylor Matson, Forward, Minnesota
Will O'Neill, Defender, Maine
Cody Reichard, Goaltender, Miami (Ohio)
Keir Ross, Defender, Cornell
Ian Slater, Forward, Western Michigan
Paul Weisgarber, Forward, Air Force