HARTFORD, Conn. -- Two first-team all-conference honorees and three second-team all-conference recipients from last year have been named to the 2009-10 America East Preseason All-Conference Team as announced at the 2009 America East Basketball Tip-Off Event at the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford, host city of the 2010 America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship presented by Newman’s Own. Four of the five members, all seniors, are repeat preseason picks.
University of Hartford senior forward Erica Beverly and University of Vermont senior guard Courtnay Pilypaitis were unanimous selections of the league’s nine head coaches for the second straight year, receiving the maximum eight votes. Head coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players. Beverly and Pilypaitis have combined for two Rookie of the Year awards, a conference tournament Most Outstanding Player award, an America East Player of the Year award and a National player of the year candidancy. Both players have also reached 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds.
Joining Beverly and Pilypaitis are UMBC senior guard Carlee Cassidy, Hartford senior center Diana Delva and Vermont senior guard May Kotsopoulos.
Beverly (Bridgeport, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) is a three-time All-America East selection despite sitting out the 2006-07 season with a knee injury. Since winning the 2006 Rookie of the Year award and receiving second-team all-conference recognition as a freshman, she has been among the league’s elite players. After ranking 14th in the league with 11.1 points per game, fourth with 7.2 rebounds per game and second with 1.91 blocks per game, Beverly was named a preseason candidate for the Wooden Award, an award recognizing college basketball’s finest player. She also finished second for the Hawks last year in field goal percentage (.498) and assists (68), while leading the team to a 14-2 America East record.
Pilypaitis (Ottawa, Ontario/St. Peter) has landed on the preseason all-conference team for the third straight year after capturing the 2007 America East Rookie of the Year honor. She followed up her debut season by winning the 2008 Player of the Year award, and then the 2009 Most Outstanding Player award after leading the Catamounts to the America East Championship and a berth into the NCAA Tournament. Entering the 2009-10 season, Pilypaitis is the league’s active scoring leader with 1,482 points. As a well-rounded player always dangerous of completing a triple-double, she averaged 15.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game last season, placing her within the conference’s top-four in each of those categories.
Cassidy (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) has led the league in scoring in each of the last two seasons, becoming the first America East player to do so since Maine’s Jamie Cassidy in 1998-99 and 1999-2000. She ranked 15th in the country averaging 20.4 points per game last season, including an eye-popping 2.7 three-pointers per game which was also good enough to be amongst the national leaders. Cassidy is the only member of the preseason all-conference team to be passed over for the all-rookie team, but she quickly got the league’s attention when she led the seventh-seeded Retrievers to the 2007 America East Championship and was subsequently named to the all-tournament team.
Delva (Stamford, Conn./Westhill) is the top returning scorer for the Hawks, averaging 11.7 points per game. The 6-2 center doesn’t need many shots to score a lot, as she shot a sizzling 60 percent from the field, leading the league by over 10 percent. Delva is another three-time all-conference team selection, having been named to the third team as a freshman and to the second team as both a sophomore and junior. She ranked 11th in the league last year in scoring, fifth in rebounding (7.2 rpg), 15th in free-throw percentage (.705) and fifth in blocked shots (1.38 bpg).
May Kotsopoulos (Waterloo, Ontario/Waterloo Collegiate) has been known for her defense as a three-time member of the all-defensive team and the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year. Last season, she also improved on the offensive end, finishing fifth in the league with 14 points per game and earning the Catamounts’ team MVP Award. Along with Beverly, Pilypaitis and Cassidy, Kotsopoulos also reached the 1,000 career points milestone last season and boasts career averages of 2.0 steals and 2.1 assists per game. Kotsopoulos was also named to the all-tournament team after helping Vermont capture the 2009 America East Championship.