NO. R-361.  JOINT RESOLUTION congratulating the 2001-2002 University of Vermont Catamounts women’s and men’s basketball teams.

(J.R.H. 261)

Offered by:  Representatives Little of Shelburne, Angell of Randolph, Aswad of Burlington, Atkins of Winooski, Bostic of St. Johnsbury, Carey of Chester, Clark of St. Johnsbury, Crawford of Burke, Crowley of West Rutland, Dakin of Colchester, Darrow of Dummerston, Davis of Cavendish, Endres of Milton, Flory of Pittsford, Follett of Springfield, Freed of Dorset, Gervais of Enosburg, Gray of Barre Town, Hall of Newport City, Heath of Westford, Hingtgen of Burlington, Howrigan of Fairfield, Hummel of Underhill, Kainen of Hartford, Keenan of St. Albans City, Kennedy of Chelsea, Keogh of Burlington, Ketchum of Bethel, Kitzmiller of Montpelier, Larrabee of Danville, Lippert of Hinesburg, Livingston of Manchester, Marron of Stowe, Mazur of South Burlington, Metzger of Milton, Milkey of Brattleboro, Monti of Barre City, Morrissey of Bennington, Myers of Essex, Nitka of Ludlow, O'Donnell of Vernon, Palmer of Pownal, Pembroke of Bennington, Pugh of South Burlington, Rosenquist of Georgia, Ryan of Waltham, Schaefer of Colchester, Scribner of Bristol, Severance of Colchester, Shaw of Derby, Sheltra of Derby, Sweetser of Essex, Towne of Berlin, Valliere of Barre City, Vincent of Waterbury, Vinton of Colchester, Webster of Brattleboro, Westman of Cambridge, Wood of Brandon, Wright of Burlington and Zuckerman of Burlington.

Whereas, the 2001-2002 University of Vermont (UVM) Catamount men’s and women’s basketball seasons will be recorded as historic milestones in the annals of the university’s intercollegiate athletic competition, and

Whereas, for only the third time in the history of the America East Conference, and the first time in 15 years, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams captured the conference’s regular season championships, and

Whereas, among the 32 NCAA basketball conferences, the Catamounts were one of only five same-school pairs of men’s and women’s basketball teams to win their respective regular season conference titles, and

Whereas, only 20 of the 320 NCAA Division I basketball programs can boast of both their men’s and women’s basketball teams winning 20 or more games, and

Whereas, the men’s and women’s academic prowess was equally impressive, as their combined fall 2001 grade point average was 3.09, and over 50 percent of the players exceeded the 3.0 level, and

Whereas, the Catamount women’s basketball team, with a 24-9 overall record and an impressive 14-2 performance at Patrick Gymnasium, was clearly the powerhouse in the America East Conference, compiling a 13‑game winning streak, the team’s longest in a decade, and winning the conference title with four games still remaining, and

Whereas, the Catamounts scored UVM’s first postseason women’s basketball victory, and, with two WNIT wins, advanced the furthest of any America East team in postseason play, and

Whereas, Head Coach Keith Cieplicki was named the America East Coach of the Year, and earned his 100th career victory during the 2001-2002 season, and

Whereas, 1,000‑point career scorer Libby Smith, who played in each of the 122 games during her UVM career, earned several well‑deserved honors, including placement on the America East All-Conference first team, the Catamounts’ Most Valuable Player Award, and, along with senior Jen MacAulay, the UVM Friends of Women’s Basketball Award, while junior Dawn Cressman was honored with the team’s Coaches Award, and sophomore Aaron Yantzi earned recognition as a second team All-America East selection, and

Whereas, this team of superb basketball players, consisting of cocaptains Theresa LaRocque of Randolph and Dawn Cressman of Guelph, Ontario, and teammates Libby Smith of Essex Junction, Jen MacAulay of Lenoxville, Quebec, Morgan Hall of Hanover, NH, Aaron Yantzi of St. Agatha, Ontario, Lani Boardman of York, ME, Katie MacNamara of Essex Junction, Tiffany Spinka of Albany, NY, Danielle Sabourin of Sarnia, Ontario, and Lindsay Vine of North Attleboro, MA, also excelled in the classroom, as they maintained a team G.P.A. of 3.1, and

Whereas, student managers, Paul Cross of Alburg and Anthony Spencer of Williamstown, provided much‑appreciated administrative and logistical assistance, and

Whereas, Head Coach Keith Cieplicki, who was named America East Coach of the Year, and Assistant Coaches Jen Niebling and Christie Lauzon demonstrated their ability to maximize the Catamounts’ abundance of basketball talent, and

Whereas, this season’s Catamount men’s basketball team earned a first place finish in the America East Conference, the team’s first conference championship in the combined 46 years of conference play in both the America East and former Yankee Conference, and

Whereas, the 21-8 Catamounts thrilled their hometown fans with a 10-1 performance at Patrick Gymnasium, where they had four sell-out crowds this year, and were the first UVM men’s basketball team to win at least 20 games in a single season, to break a school record for victories that had stood for 55 years, and

Whereas, the Catamounts electrified the community with a 12-game winning streak, breaking a record that has lasted since 1924, and

Whereas, UVM became only the second school to sweep the postseason America East men’s basketball awards, as Head Coach Tom Brennan was named Coach of the Year, sophomore T.J. Sorrentine, who also was UVM’s second-ever Associated Press All-American, was named the Kevin Roberson America East Player of the Year, freshman Taylor Coppenrath was named the conference’s Rookie of the Year, and senior Trevor Gaines, a 1,000‑point scorer who finished third all-time at UVM in rebounds, was a first team America East All-Conference selection, and

Whereas, the Catamount’s cocaptains, Trevor Gaines of Farmington Hills, MI, and Corry McLaughlin of Andover, MA, and their teammates Andre Anderson of Carlisle, PA, Grant Anderson of Minnetonka, MN, Scotty Jones of Katy, TX, Corey Sullivan of Springboro, OH, T.J. Sorrentine of Pawtucket, RI, Jack Phelan of West Hartford, CT, Taylor Coppenrath of West Barnet, Mike Goia of Branchburg, NJ, David Hehn of Sarnia, Ontario, and Germain Njila of Yaounde, Cameroon, were a superb combination on the basketball court, and

Whereas, student managers, Matt Weiss of Englewood, CO and Reza Mohamed of Sri Lanka, were always ready to lend their support, and

Whereas, Head Coach Tom Brennan, who was also named New England Coach of the Year, Associate Head Coach Jesse Agel, and Assistant Coaches Patrick Filien and Jeff Rush, provided the team with their combined wise counsel and technical expertise, now therefore be it

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:

That the General Assembly congratulates the players and coaches of the 2001-2002 University of Vermont women’s and men’s basketball teams on winning their respective conference championships, and for exciting the campus community, and all of Vermont, with their thrilling basketball seasons, and be it further

Resolved:  That the Secretary of State be directed to send copies of this resolution to Tom Brennan and Keith Cieplicki at the University of Vermont.