April 23, 2004

Fairfax, Va.--George Mason University's guard Jen Derevjanik (Staten Island, NY) made the final cut at the WNBA's Connecticut Sun's free agent camp to become one of three athletes chosen, out of 39, to participate in the Sun's training camp. The free agent camp was held at Connecticut College in New London, Conn. on Apr. 21-22.

"I am very excited for this great opportunity to be able to compete on the level of the WNBA," said Derevjanik. "I am going to work very hard throughout the next couple of weeks and I hope to make the final cut to become a member of Connecticut Sun's organization."

The 18 players invited to the Sun's camp will report on April 25, with practice sessions beginning the following day. The Sun will head into the regular season with 12 players and one injured reserve with the cut dates scheduled for May 4 and May 18.

"We are really proud of Jen Dev (Derevjanik) and I think that it is great for her to have a foot in the door in the WNBA," said head coach Debbie Taneyhill. "This is a real testament to the quality of player that she has been for us at George Mason and it is very exciting for her to play at such an elite level."

Derevjanik started a school record 116 consecutive games for Mason and is among the top-5 all-time in Mason's history books in four categories, including third in both assists (469) and points (1,637). 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 was named to the Colonial Athletic Association All-Tournament Team and also received 2004 All-CAA First Team honors. Derevjanik was named CAA Player of the Week twice (Jan. 5 & Jan. 12) during the 2003-04 campaign and earned Hawk Classic MVP honors on Dec. 29. In addition, Derevjanik was featured in "Spotlight: A Player Worth Noting" section of USA Today (Jan. 7).

The only other Mason women's basketball player to compete in the WNBA was Keri Chaconas who played for the Washington Mystics during the 1998 season under former Mason head coach, Jim Lewis.