The Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau (ACVB) is proud to announce the 10 semi-finalists for the 2nd Annual Creamland Dairies Collegiate Basketball Award of Excellence.

Highlighting this year's list: Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's, who currently leads the nation�s #2 ranked team and Nicole Ohlde, Kansas State who leads the nation�s 8th ranked team.

The Creamland Dairies Collegiate Basketball Award of Excellence honors college seniors for their athletic and academic achievement, as well as their community involvement. The award, in its second year, was first presented in Albuquerque after the 2002-2003 basketball season. Last year�s winners were Matt Bonner of Florida who was drafted by the Chicago Bulls and Tiffany Kyser of IUPUI. This year's award will be presented on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 at an awards dinner at the Albuquerque Marriott. Jimmy Dykes, ESPN College Basketball Analyst will emcee the event.

"The process of narrowing down all the nominees to the 10 semi-finalists was difficult because of the many exceptional candidates, but we are extremely proud of the 20 individuals who made our semi-finalist list," said Dan Ballou, Director of Sports Marketing for ACVB. "We are pleased that our semi-finalists represent all regions of the country and a diverse group of conferences. The students on the list all have outstanding credentials and the selection of the three finalists is going to be another difficult task, but one that will be very rewarding."

Every NCAA Division I school had the opportunity to nominate their men and women student-athletes who are competing in their senior year.

The following are the 10 men and 10 women semi-finalists for the Collegiate Basketball Award of Excellence presented by Creamland Dairies:

MEN: Timmy Bowers, Mississippi State Moris Finley, Alabama - Birmingham James Gillingham, Bradley Tommy Gunn, MTSU Adam Hess, William and Mary Michael Lindeman, Creighton Adam Mark, Belmont Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's Jason Parker, Tulsa Jake Sullivan, Iowa State

WOMEN: Courtney Davidson, Navy Caton Hill, Oklahoma Jennie Lillis, Iowa Sara Nord, Louisville Nicole Ohlde, Kansas State Hana Peljto, Harvard Christi Thomas, Georgia Evan Unrau, Missouri Lindsay Whalen, Minnesota Corinne Wong, Pacific

"As you can see from the list, we have nominees from some of the nation�s strongest men�s and women�s basketball programs," said Ballou.

The three finalists will be selected during the NCAA basketball tournament and announced at the April 13 dinner. For ticket information, contact Dana Lehner, Sports Marketing Coordinator for ACVB at (505) 222-4359.

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Media Contact: Melissa Besante +1 505.222.4349 besante@itsatrip.org