FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SHAH, PADONOU NAMED BATES ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

LEWISTON, Maine -- First-year women's squash player Aisha Shah of Bombay, India, and sophomore men's basketball player Rommel Padonou of Libreville, Gabon, have been named Bates Athletes of the Week for the week of Dec. 7.

Shah has led the women's squash team to a 4-1 start with a perfect record. In five matches this year, Shah has dropped just one game. After sweeping her opponent from Tufts University in the team's season-opening 8-1 win on Nov. 20, Shah went 4-0 at the Wesleyan University Round Robin Dec. 5-6. Despite losing the first game, 9-5, against her opponent from Hamilton College in a 6-3 Bates loss, Shah came back to win the next three, 9-3, 9-0, 9-4, before sweeping opponents from Smith College, Wesleyan and Wellesley College. The Bobcats won those matches 7-2, 6-3 and 9-0, respectively.

Padonou was named most valuable player at the Ed Hockenbury Classic Tournament Dec. 5-6 at Norwich University in Northfield, Vt. After a 15-point, seven-rebound performance in an 83-75 loss to the University of New England, the Bobcats won three games in a row, with Padonou posting three double doubles. He had 27 points and 14 rebounds in a 75-65 win over Gordon College; 22 points, 12 boards in an 89-80 victory over Lyndon State College in the first round of the Norwich tournament; and 11 points, 12 boards in the championship game against Norwich. The Bobcats rallied against Norwich, overcoming a nine-point deficit with four minutes to go to win the game, 73 67. In all, Padonou averaged 18.8 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 58 percent from the floor (30-52) in leading the Bobcats to a 4-1 mark, giving second-year head coach Joe Reilly one more win than in his entire rookie campaign. Padonou is the third-leading scorer (23.2 ppg) and second leading rebounder (10.6 rpg) in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). He is also second in the conference in field goal percentage (65.8 percent, 46-73). For his efforts, Padonou was also named NESCAC Player of the Week and earned a spot on the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Weekly Honor Roll.