February 15, 1996

Release # S058 Contact: Adam Levin Sports Information Director Phone #: (207) 786-6411

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Taylor Takes Home Two Rookie of the Year Awards;
Three Bobcats Named to All-NEXCAC Teams

LEWISTON, Maine -- First-year forward A.T. Taylor of Orono has earned Rookie of the Year honors from the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Taylor's teammates junior center Sarah Bonkovsky of Harvard, Mass., and first-year guard Colleen McCrave of Walpole, Mass., were named first- and second-team All-NESCAC, respectively. Senior point guard Adam Piandes of Winchester, Mass, was named second-team All-NESCAC for the men's team.

Taylor had an outstanding rookie campaign for the 17-7 Bobcats, averaging 18.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, which had already garnered her New England Women's Basketball Association and Maine Women's College Basketball Association Rookie of the Year honors. She was named NEWBA Rookie of the Week six times, Maine Women's Basketball Coaches Association Rookie of the Week (MWBCA) three times, ECAC New England Division III Rookie of the Week twice, and NESCAC Player of the Week twice. Taylor was named Most Valuable Player at the Babson College Invitational, where the Bobcats were the first team to defeat the host in the six years of the tournament, and was named to the All-Tournament team at the UMaine-Farmington Invitational. She tied a school record with four 3-point field goals Jan. 13 at Union and set the school record for 3-point field goals in a season with 47.

Bonkovsky also had a terrific year for coach Jim Murphy's squad, leading the team with 19.1 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. She was named NESCAC Player of the Week twice and garnered NEWBA, MWBCA, and ECAC New England Player of the Week honors once each. She was also named to ECAC New England Division III Honor Roll three times and was the only New England player named to the College Division Academic All-District 1 team, sponsored by GTE/CoSIDA. Bonkovsky was named to the Babson Invitational All-Tournament team. She set school records this season for points (37) and field goals (17) in a game, Jan. 7 versus Colby-Sawyer. Bonkovsky also set Bates' single-season records for points (458) and field goals (195). She is ranked seventh all-time in Bates women's basketball history in both scoring (982) and rebounding (587). Bonkovsky had already been named first-team All-New England by NEWBA.

McCrave was one of the top all-around players in NESCAC. She averaged 12.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 6.8 steals and 4.8 assists per game. Her 6.8 steals-per-game average was second in NCAA Division III. McCrave was twice named MWBCA Rookie of the Week and was once named to the ECAC Weekly Honor Roll. She set school records with 14 steals in a game Jan. 9 vs. Thomas College and 163 steals for the season.

Piandes was the men's team leader for coach Jeff Brown's Bobcats this season. He was second on the team in scoring with 17.7 points per game. Piandes' 8.3 assists per game was tops in NESCAC and sixth in NCAA Division III. He set the school record for assists in a season with 200. Piandes was named to the All-Tournament team at the Cardinal Classic held at Plattsburgh State and was named to the ECAC Weekly Honor Roll once. He will graduate as the school's fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,342 career points.

Taylor is a 1995 graduate of Orono High School. She is the daughter of Thomas and Katherine White Taylor of 38 Westwood Drive, Orono.

Bonkovsky is a 1993 graduate of The Bromfeld School. She is the daughter of Herbert and Marilyn Bonkovsky, 80 Slough Rd., Harvard.

McCrave is a 1995 graduate of Walpole High School. She is the daughter of William and Annmarie McCrave, 6 Eagle Drive, Walpole.

Piandes is a 1992 graduate of Winchester High School. He is the son of Charles and Olga Piandes, 16 Wagon Wheel Rd., Winchester.

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