March 9, 2004
Fairfax, Va. - Two George Mason University women's basketball players received All-CAA nods and three were named to the All-Academic Team as voted on by the Colonial Athletic Association head coaches, women's basketball sports information directors and a panel of media. The teams were announced by the conference office at the banquet Tuesday evening.
Senior guard Jen Derevjanik (Staten Island, NY) received All-CAA First Team honors for her efforts during the 2003-04 campaign. The Staten Island native started all 25 games for the Patriots and has scored in double figures in 22 contests. Derevjanik closed out the regular season first among teammates and second in the conference with 16.3 points per game and also leads the Patriots in assists per game with 4.2. The senior guard heads into the CAA Tournament ranked in the top-15 in eight categories in the conference, including first in assist/turnover ratio (2.1).
Derevjanik earned conference player of the week honors two weeks in a row, one of which was after earning Hawk Classic Tournament MVP accolades back in December. In addition, Derevjanik was featured in the "Spotlight: A Player Worth Noting" section of the USA Today in the Jan. 7 issue. Derevjanik also scored a career-high 33 points at Virginia Commonwealth on Jan. 11 after shooting 11-of-18 from the field and 10-of-11 from the line. Derevjanik closed out the regular season in the top-5 in four categories in Mason's record books, and is one shy from tying the school record for consecutive games started with 113. Derevjanik had been named to the All-CAA Second Team in both her sophomore and junior seasons and earned CAA Rookie of the Year in 2001.
Derevjanik was also named to the 2004 Academic All-America Women's Basketball District III University Division First Team and went on to earn conference All-Academic accolades for her efforts in the classroom. Derevjanik currently holds a cumulative GPA of 3.33 and is majoring in psychology.
Senior forward Vernessa Neamo (Forestville, MD) was named to the All-CAA Second Team, as well as the conference All-Defensive team. Neamo closed out the regular season third in the CAA in steals per game (2.42), fifth in rebounding (7.8), sixth in defensive rebounds (5.21) and sixth in scoring (15.2 ppg). The Maryland native became just the 13th player in Mason's history to amass 1,000 career points and also became the Patriots all-time steals leader with her third steal of the game at Towson on Feb. 22.
Neamo led Mason in scoring on 10 occasions, rebounds 14 times, assists seven and steals in eight contests. On the season, Neamo registered six double-doubles and scored in double digits in 18 games. Neamo closed out the regular season leading her teammates in rebound average (7.8) and steals per game (2.4). Neamo netted her career-high of 28 points at Drexel on Feb. 5 from a personal best 12 field goals. Neamo heads into the CAA Tournament ranked in the top-10 in four categories in Mason's history books.
Junior guard Laura Kooij (Den Helder, Holland) and senior forward Susan Otim (Fairfax, VA) were the other two Patriots to be named to the conference All-Academic team. Kooij holds a cumulative GPA of 3.23 and is majoring in psychology, while Otim is a finance major and has a cumulative GPA of 3.26.
The No.2 seeded Patriots will face the winner of No. 7 James Madison/No. 10 Towson on Mar. 11 at 12 p.m. at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, VA.
2004 CAA Women's Basketball Award Winners
First Team
Cyndy Wilks Va. Commonwealth
Monique Coker Old Dominion
Max Nhassengo Old Dominion
Jen Derevjanik George Mason
Cherie Lea UNC Wilmington
Second Team
Tiara Malcom Delaware
Vernessa Neamo George Mason
Amaka Agugua Hofstra
Shareese Grant Old Dominion
Kacy O'Brien Towson
Third Team
Jennifer Kapper UNC Wilmington
Lesley Dickinson James Madison
Catherine Scanlon Drexel
Kyra Kaylor William & Mary
Meredith Alexis James Madison
all-rookie team
Lesley Dickinson James Madison
Kyra Kaylor William & Mary
Kyle DeHaven William & Mary
Meredith Alexis James Madison
Kelly Robinson Towson
all-defensive team
Max Nhassengo Old Dominion
Staceyann Claxton Hofstra
Vernessa Neamo George Mason
Kristina Cesnaviciute Va. Commonwealth
Kyle DeHaven William & Mary
all-academic team
Kristina Cesnaviciute Va. Commonwealth
Staceyann Claxton Hofstra
Jen Derevjanik George Mason
Meagan Evans Va. Commonwealth
Christin Gethers William & Mary
Maria Giovannetti Va. Commonwealth
Laura Kooij George Mason
Cherie Lea UNC Wilmington
Katrina Martin Drexel
Natalia Oehninger Va. Commonwealth
Susan Otim George Mason
Julie Sailer Delaware
Urzula Smolarek Hofstra
caa coach of the year
Felisha Legette-Jack, Hofstra
caa player of the year
Cyndy Wilks, Va. Commonwealth
CAA rookie of the year
Lesley Dickinson, James Madison
caa defensive player of the year
Max Nhassengo, Old Dominion
Dean ehlers Leadership Award
Cherie Lea, UNC Wilmington
