Vermont senior forward Trevor Gaines (Farmington Hills, Mich.) and redshirt freshman forward Taylor Coppenrath (West Barnet, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy) were named Spalding Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, by America East on January 2. It marks the third time this season that Coppenrath has been selected for top rookie honors.
Gaines averaged 17.3 ppg and 9.5 rpg in four Catamount wins. The 6-7 forward was named MVP of the FIU Holiday Classic in Miami after scoring 27 points vs. host Florida International and 19 points vs. Ohio. Gaines was 20-of-25 from the floor in the two games and 6-of-6 from the free throw line and also averaged 6.5 rpg in the tournament. He had double-doubles in the Catamounts' other games, scoring 12 points with 13 rebounds in a 74-54 win over Harvard, and adding 10 points and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes in the America East opener, a 71-43 win over Albany. Gaines is sixth in America East in scoring (15.2) and leads the conference with 9.2 rebounds per game.
Coppenrath averaged 17 ppg, 6.8 rpg and 2.3 blocks per contest while shooting 56 percent from the floor in the Catamounts' four wins. The 6-8 forward had a game-high 19 points in the win over Harvard, scored six of his 20 points in the final 1:18 in the Catamounts' comeback win at Florida International, added 16 points in 23 minutes in the win over Ohio and had 13 points in the conference-opening win over Albany. Coppenrath is fifth in America East in scoring (16.0) and eighth in rebounding (6.5).