CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Six student-athletes who demonstrated excellence both in their respective sport and in the classroom during the Winter 2009-10 season were named America East Scholar-Athletes by the conference office on Wednesday. The six Scholar-Athletes were highlighted by three-time award recipient May Kotsopoulos (Waterloo, Ontario/Waterloo Collegiate) from University of Vermont in the sport of women’s basketball. Kotsopoulos was joined by Stony Brook University men’s basketball player Andrew Goba (Durban, South Africa/Durban), University at Albany track and field athletes Fey Adaramola (Bronx, N.Y./Trevor) and Valete Graham (Bronx, N.Y./Mt. St. Michael Academy), and Boston University swimmers Emily Munday (Butte, Mont./Butte) and Bryon Kallert (New Milford, N.J./New Milford).
The Scholar-Athletes were members of teams in the six championship sports which America East sponsored during the winter, including men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, and men’s and women’s swimming and diving. Member institutions of America East Conference for the 2009-10 winter season included University at Albany, Binghamton University, Boston University, University of Hartford, University of Maine, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), University of New Hampshire, Stony Brook University and University of Vermont.
A committee of athletic administrators and NCAA Faculty Athletics Representatives chose an honoree in each of the six winter championship sports. Each America East Scholar-Athlete was a starter or prominent reserve and carries a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.20. These six student-athletes will automatically be nominated for the male and female Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award recognized by the conference this summer.
Kotsopoulos, a senior majoring in business administration, minoring in marketing and carrying a 3.66 GPA, led America East in scoring with 17.1 points per game. She led the Catamounts to its second straight America East Championship and the program’s first-ever victory in the NCAA Tournament, a first-round upset win over seventh-seeded Wisconsin. The guard out of Ontario, Canada was a unanimous choice for the 2010 All-Conference First Team, was voted the Fans’ Choice Player of the Year, and also garnered All-Defensive Team honors for the fourth-straight year. ESPN The Magazine tabbed Kotsopoulos an Academic All-District I First Team selection in 2009 and 2010, and also named her an Academic All-American earlier this season. Most recently, she was invited to tryout for the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun and she will participate in the team’s training camp next week.
Goba, a graduate student, played in 28 games at center for the Seawolves, who won their first-ever America East men’s basketball regular-season title this season. As a two-time captain, Goba helped the program make its first Division I postseason appearance when it hosted Illinois in an NIT game. He is a three-time member of the Dean’s List and America East Honor Roll, and was named to the 2010 America East All-Academic Team. Goba completed his undergraduate career with a cumulative GPA of 3.89, earning a degree in health science last May. The South African native is currently working towards his second baccalaureate in philosophy.
A senior human biology major with a 3.34 GPA, Adaramola helped the Great Dane women to their first America East Indoor Track & Field Championship in 2010. She won the 55- and 200-meter dash events en route to being named the meet’s Most Outstanding Female Track Performer. Adaramola also anchored the second-place 4x400-meter relay team before breaking school records in the 55 and 200 at the ECAC Championship the following week. The team captain also earned a spot on the 2010 America East All-Academic Team and is a member of the 2009-10 Albany Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Graham is a repeat winner, also garnering the Scholar-Athlete Award for the 2009 outdoor track & field season. He led Albany to its league-record fifth-straight America East Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championship this winter by accumulating 18 points. Graham, a senior with a 3.71 GPA in psychology, won the long jump event and placed second in the triple jump at the indoor meet, and then placed fourth and ninth, respectively, in those events at the IC4A meet. He has been a member of the America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll every year of his career and is a four-time member of an indoor or outdoor track all-academic team.
A senior marine science major, Munday won the 100-meter butterfly event for the third time in her career to help carry the Boston University women to it’s second consecutive America East Swimming and Diving Championship. Munday, who owns a 3.48 cumulative GPA and is also minoring in biology, was also a member of the first-place 200-free relay team at the conference championship. She swam the lead leg for the 400-free relay team which broke conference and school records, while also placing fifth in the 50-yard freestyle. Munday was named to the All-Academic squad for the second straight winter and will be graduating this spring with cum laude distinction.
Kallert, the only underclassman of the winter honorees, is a junior business administration and management major with a 3.49 GPA and minor concentrations in accounting and finance. He competed in six different events at the America East Swimming and Diving Championship, never finishing lower than third, including wins in the 200- and 400-medley relays. Kallert, a member of Boston University’s second-place men’s swimming and diving team, was recognized on the America East All-Academic Team for the second straight year this winter, and has been named to the Dean’s List and America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll for three straight semesters.
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