Major League Lacrosse Release | Complete Draft Results
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STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- Coming off its best season in conference history with two teams in the elite eight and with UMBC's Drew Westervelt (fourth - Denver) leading the way, the America East Conference was very successful in the 2007 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft. Overall, three America East players were selected in the 5-round collegiate draft. Westervelt is joined by Albany's Frank Resetarits (22nd - Long Island (via trade)) and Vermont's Peter Hein (49th - Denver). The seventh annual MLL Collegiate Draft and Warrior Major League Challenge were held on Thursday May 31, broadcasted live on ESPNU at Stony Brook University.
The Collegiate Draft takes place immediately following the Warrior Major League Challenge, a showcase game featuring 40 of the best college seniors playing under MLL rules.
The MLL Collegiate Draft day involves registration in the morning, followed by physical examinations, sport seminars and interviews with MLL coaches and GMs. After lunch, players meet with MLL Commissioner David Gross, go through various athletic combine testing and then practice for the Challenge game with an MLL Player-Coach. The afternoon then features the Challenge game, followed by dinner and the Collegiate Draft at night.
Westervelt, the fourth pick overall, becomes the highest professional pick in conference history being selected two picks higher than Maine's Cindy Blodgett, who was a sixth pick overall of the Cleveland Rockers in the 1998 WNBA draft.
Westervelt, who helped lead the Retrievers to the elite eight, led UMBC with two goals and two assists and became the fourth Retriever in school history to amass 70 (35g-36a-71pts) points in a single season. Andy Gallagher was the other multiple-point scorer with a goal and as assist as UMBC managed just 16 shots through three quarters. He will join former teammate Brendan Mundorf in the Mile High city.
Resetarits, the 22nd player taken overall, was then traded following the draft to the Long Island Lizards for Ryan Moran and a 2008 second-round draft choice.
Resetarits, a senior attackman from Hamburg, N.Y., was named to the USILA Division I All-America first team last weekend. He finished second in goals (3.17 per game) and third in scoring (4.44 points/game) among the national leaders. Resetarits, the 2007 America East Conference Player of the Year, accounted for 57 goals and 23 assists for 80 points, the third-highest single-season total in the program’s history. He led UAlbany to the NCAA quarterfinal round for the first time and a school-record 15-3 mark.
Hein led the team in goals with 23 while majoring in economics at UVM. His 23 goals also ranked sixth best in America East. He finished the year second on the team in points with 27 and played in all 14 games on the season. He finished his career with 50 points (43 goals, 7 assists) in 48 games played.