OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – University of Dayton's Amass Amankona and Nicole Waters are two of the 20 NCAA men's and women's soccer student-athletes who were selected as finalists for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award^® in collegiate soccer. 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.  Dayton is one of four schools to have both a male and female finalist for the Senior CLASS Award. Cal Poly, North Carolina and West Virginia are the other three.

Amankona currently leads the Flyers with nine goals, 22 points, and 19 shots on goal, to go with four assists. He has helped Dayton to a 9-4-2 record overall and an unbeaten Atlantic 10 mark of 4-0-1. On the national stage, Amankona ranks 14th in the nation in points and 18th in goals. The Ghana native has twice been named A-10 Player of the Week, including for a hat trick performance against La Salle on Oct. 17. He has been named First Team All-Conference, team MVP, and Presidential Scholar Athlete Award winner in his time at Dayton.

Waters, who recently became UD's all-time career leader in assists with 52, was the 2014 Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year and she was also named NSCAA All-Region. She is a two-time A-10 First Team selection, as well as a two-time A-10 All-Tournament Team honoree. For the third consecutive year she is in the top five in the NCAA in assists. She led the nation in assists per game as a sophomore and is leading in that category once again this year. She is the NCAA's career active leader in assists.
 
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 finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 men's candidates and 30 women's candidates announced in September. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through November 23. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner. The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2015 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup® championships in December.
 

Men's Soccer Finalists
 Amass Amankona, Dayton
Jonathan Campbell, North Carolina
Mike Casey, Rhode Island
Jack Gorab, Brown
Jesse Klug, Bucknell
Zach Mason, Ohio State
Jamie Merriam, West Virginia
Chase Minter, Cal Poly
Matt Pacifici, Davidson
Brandon Vincent, Stanford
 
 
Women's Soccer Finalists
Caroline Casey, William & Mary
Cali Farquharson, Arizona State
Amanda Hill, West Virginia
Katie Holder, Army West Point
Elise Krieghoff, Cal Poly
Paige Nielsen, North Carolina
Brianne Reed, Rutgers
Isabella Schmid, Florida State
Abby Smith, Texas
Nicole Waters, Dayton