Catamount Tip-Off | 2007-08 Schedule | Tickets
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Senior Kyle Cieplicki (Shelburne, Vt.) and junior Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn.) have been named co-captains of the 2007-08 University of Vermont men’s basketball team. Head coach Mike Lonergan made the announcement today.

“I think Kyle and Mike will do a tremendous job as co-captains this season,” said Lonergan. “We will rely heavily on their experience and production in the backcourt as well as the excellent leadership they will provide for their teammates in their roles as co-captains.”

The Catamounts’ leader on the court, Cieplicki provides experience and is also one of the top defensive guards in the league. One of the teams best outside threats, he has the ability to score in bunches as evidenced by his 26-point breakout performance against Hartford at home last season when he went 8-for-10 from the floor and 5-for-6 from three-point range. Cieplicki, who moved into the starting line-up as a sophomore, becomes the first three-year captain in the history of the program.

“Kyle is the best captain I have ever had in my 20-year coaching career,” said Lonergan. “He has the respect of his teammates and coaches on and off the court. Kyle has excellent knowledge of the game due in large part to growing up surrounded by quality coaches in what I like to call ‘the first family of Vermont basketball.’”

Last season Trimboli was named a tri-captain midway through the year. The top returning scorer in the conference, he will look to continue to lead the team offensively this year. Trimboli enters this season just 60 points shy of 1,000 for his career and is looking to become the ninth player in school history to top that plateau as a junior. Not only is he a threat to score, but he is also ninth all-time at UVM in assists after two seasons. Trimboli has handed out 166 in each of his first two years and has the highest assist average in school history at 5.3 per game.

“Mike has also grown into a tremendous leader for us and was rewarded for this by being named a captain during his sophomore season,” said Lonergan. “It is the first time I named a player a captain during the season and it paid off.”

The annual Catamount Tip-Off featuring the Vermont men's and women's basketball teams will be held at 4:00pm on Saturday, October 20 at Patrick Gymnasium. Tickets for the event are $5.00 and are currently on sale. UVM students get in free with a valid school ID and children under the age of 10 are also admitted free. All proceeds benefit the Vermont Cancer Center in support of breast cancer awareness month.

Vermont will appear on television a minimum of 11 times this season, after playing in front of the cameras a school-record 14 times a year ago. Other potential television appearances include the BracketBuster series on February 22-23 on the ESPN family of networks and the America East Championship, which will take place March 7-9 at the Events Center on the campus of Binghamton University. The finals will be held on March 15 at the highest remaining seed and be played on ESPN2.

Tickets to all Vermont men's basketball games are now on sale. They can be purchased online at www.uvmathletics.com or by calling the UVM Athletic Ticket Office at 802-656-4410.