Photo Credit: Brian Jenkins
Q&A With the Catamounts | Courtnay's Column (Blog)
Catamount Tip-Off Video: Catamounts TV | YouTube
Season Preview: Catamounts TV | YouTube
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VERMONT WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
The Vermont Catamounts, the defending America East Champions, host Laval University from Quebec in the first of two preseason games on Saturday (Oct. 31) at 1 p.m. at Patrick Gymnasium. The game can be heard on WVMT-620 AM and on the Internet at SportsJuice.com. Live video of the game will also be available on a pay-per-view basis ($7) via B2 Networks.

ABOUT LAVAL
The Red and Gold (Rouge et Or) have won three straight games by an average of 17 points coming into today’s contest. Senior Myriam Lamarre is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 14.3 points per game. Teammate Elyse Jobin is chipping in 13.3 points and Marie-Michelle Genois is adding 12.6 points per game. Marie-Pascale Nadeau is the leading rebounder for the Red and Gold, collecting 9.6 rebounds, while chipping in 8.6 points per game.

Laval has competed in the National Championship Tournament nine of the last 10 years. Genois was named the Rookie of the Year as a freshman and has spent time on the Canadian Developmental Team. Channel St. Amour and Jobin also have national team experience and both played on the same team with UVM’s Courtnay Pilypaitis at the 2009 World University Games this past summer.

PRESEASON ACCOLADES
Vermont senior guard Courtnay Pilypaitis has been named to the Full Court Press Preseason Mid-Major Top-25 Honorable Mention team. The Full Court Press Mid-Major Top-25 team honors outstanding student-athletes that are in Division I programs outside of the six major conferences. The players were chosen from 25 different conferences and from approximately 258 institutions.

Pilypaitis and teammate May Kotsopoulos were also named to the 2009 America East Preseason All-Conference Team. Pilypaitis was a unanimous choice for the team for the third straight year, while Kotsopoulos earned the preseason nod for the first time in her career.

CATAMOUNTS ARE AMERICA EAST FAVORITE IN 2009-10
For the second straight year, the University of Vermont women's basketball team has been selected as the preseason choice of the league's coaches to win the America East Women's Basketball title in 2009-10. The Catamounts, the defending America East Champions, received five of a possible eight first-place votes (coaches were not allowed to vote for their team) and 61 points overall.

Hartford was second, receiving four first-place votes, and 60 points. Binghamton was third with 45 points, followed by New Hampshire (38), Boston University (38), UMBC (35), Stony Brook (23), Maine (13) and Albany (11).

COACHES SHOW
The Sharon Dawley Coaches Show will be broadcast each Wednesday throughout the season at 9:30 a.m. on WVMT-620 AM.

NEW VOICE
Alastair Ingram begins his first season as the women's basketball play-by-play announcer at WVMT-620 AM. Ingram is a native of Bedford, Mass. and a 2008 graduate of Syracuse University. While a student at Syracuse he called football, men's basketball and men's lacrosse action for the Orange.

Following graduation, Ingram served as the play-by-play announcer for Babson College men's basketball and men's hockey. He also called the action for the Boston Breakers of Women's Professional Soccer and the Lowell Spinners, the Class A affiliate for the Boston Red Sox.

GAME DAY PROMOTION | List of Game Day Promotions
Visit the promotions table in the lobby of Patrick Gym today to sign up for a chance to win 2009-10 women's basketball season tickets.

WHO’S NEXT | 2009-10 Schedule
Vermont will host Franklin Pierce College, a perennial Division II Final Four participant and a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, on Saturday (Nov. 7) at 4:30 p.m. in the final preseason game for the Catamounts. The Ravens feature former BFA-St. Albans standout Tiffany Johnson, who is a freshman on the team this season.

The game will be the second half a basketball doubleheader at Patrick Gym, as the UVM men’s team will host Saint Michael’s at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WVMT-620 AM and on the Internet at SportsJuice.com. Live video of the game will also be available on a pay-per-view basis ($7) via B2 Networks.

FOLLOW OR FRIEND THE CATAMOUNTS ON FACEBOOK & TWITTER
The UVM Athletic Department has a Facebook page. Click here to become a friend of the department to keep up with all the happenings in Catamount Country.

Fans can also follow the Catamounts via Twitter. The department has a general Twitter account @UVMAthletics and the women's basketball team also has a Twitter account @UVM_W_Hoops Follow @UVMAthletics for general news on the department and/or follow @UVM_W_Hoops for more in-depth coverage of the team, including in-game updates throughout the season.

CATAMOUNTS ALL-ACCESS | Click Here
Visit the Catamounts All-Access page at UVMathletics.com for information on how to get results of your favorite Catamount teams minutes after the conclusion of the game via a text message on your cell phone via eScores. The feature is available to anyone with a cell phone, regardless of cell phone service provider.

Also, stay up-to-date with the Catamounts. Sign up for the Vermont Women's Basketball eNews, offered free of charge by the Athletic Communications Office. Receive all the latest news and notes, as well as complete game summaries for every contest via your personal e-mail account.

Catamounts All-Access also includes links to UVM's other social networking sites like Flickr and YouTube, Vermont's television schedule, live stats, live audio streaming and wallpaper for your computer.

PHOTO STORE | Click Here
Catamount faithful can purchase athletic pictures at www.UVMathletics.com via the Vermont Photo Store. Pictures make great gifts for holidays, home wall art, or office decorations. Powered by Replay Photos, the website will feature pictures of all 18 sports, including game action photos from the 2009-10 season.

GET YOUR GEAR | Click Here
The UVM athletic department, in conjunction with TeamFanShop, has launched its first-ever merchandise and apparel store through the school's official athletic site at UVMathletics.com. The new online store includes hats, polo shirts, shorts, t-shirts, gifts and much more from several leading manufacturers.