COMPLETE AMERICA EAST RELEASE

West Hartford, CT – Senior's Diana Delva and Erica Beverly led the Hawks to a historic 16-0 record in America East Conference Play and on Thursday their individual success was rewarded when they were named Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively. Head coach Jennifer Rizzotti rounded out the major awards, as she earned her third America East Coach of the Year accolade.

Juniors Jackie Smith and Mary Silvia and freshman Ruthanne Doherty also earned individual honors. Smith picked up All-Conference Third Team honors, while she and Silvia were named to the All-Academic Team. Doherty picked up All-Rookie team honors, becoming the fifth player in the last five years to earn All-Rookie distinction. Rounding out the Hawks postseason awards were Delva and Beverly who were each named to the All-Defensive team.

Delva earns the first major award of her career, after being named to the America East All-Conference Second Team each of the last two years. She was also named to the third team and All-Rookie Team as a freshman. Delva's honor comes after leading the Hawks, averaging 14.5 points-per-game, while hitting 65.5 percent of her shots (156-of-238), which is the second best shooting percentage in the country.

Delva's Player of the Year honor is the second for Hartford; Erika Messam earned the first in 2005-06. Delva also led the Hawks in rebounding, averaging a career-best 8.3 rebounds-per-game, while she is second on the team with 52 blocks, a career-high. After becoming the 11th player in school history to score at least 1,000 career points, Delva currently stands as the fourth leading scorer with 1,346 career points.

Beverly becomes the first Hartford player to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors. Her and Delva's defensive honors are a result of the Hawks impressive defense, which is currently third in the nation for scoring defense. The Hawks are also nationally ranked for their field goal percentage defense (21st) and their three point field goal defense (fourth). Overall, the Hawks are holding their opponents to 50.8 points-per-game (45.2 ppg in conference play). 

Beverly's first team honor is the third-straight for her, while she scores the second major award of her career. Beverly was named the America East Rookie of the Year following her freshman season in 2005-06, the first Rookie of the Year distinction for a Hawk. Beverly is second on the team in scoring (9.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.9 rpg) in her final year as a Hawk. She also leads the team with 62 blocks, a single season school record. She also leads the team with 27 steals and is second on the team with 65 assists.

Smith jumped into the starting point guard role with much success, helping lead the Hawks to a 25-3 overall record and the program's first ever national rankings, currently 21st in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and 23rd in the Associated Press Poll. Smith closed out the regular season third on the team in scoring, averaging 7.1 ppg, while leading the team with a career-high 89 assists. Twice during the season, Smith tied a single game school record with six three pointers made, including going a perfect 6-of-6 from the field on the road at Stony Brook. Smith's 89 assists is the eighth most in the conference this season.

Doherty follows in the footsteps of her position mates Beverly and Delva, who each began their careers with All-Rookie honors. Doherty earned a starting role for the Hawks two games prior to the conference season and since joining the lineup the Hawks have won 18-straight games, a school record. She is averaging 6.2 ppg and 5.0 rbg, third most on the team. She closed out the regular season with her first career double double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Smith and Silvia round out the All-Conference honors with their All-Academic Team awards, joining teammate Beverly as the only Hawks to earn All-Academic merit. Both juniors, Smith is an elementary and special education major with a 3.61 grade point average, while Silvia is an entrepreneurial studies major with a 3.90 GPA, the highest on the 2009-10 All-Academic team. Silvia averaged 5.8 ppg in her junior campaign and finished the regular season with 27 three pointers, third most on the team.

Leading the Hawks throughout the season and into her 11th year on the sidelines, Rizzotti earns her third Coach of the Year accolades after leading the Hawks to their fourth 25 win season in school history. Rizzotti's Hawks will play in the postseason for the sixth-straight year after going undefeated in conference play earning their fourth America East Regular Season title. She is also credited with propelling the Hawks into the national spotlight as Hartford earned its first national rankings on February 8 and have not fallen out of the rankings since.

Rizzotti and the Hartford Hawks will begin the quest for their fifth America East Championship on Friday at 6:00 p.m. when they open up play in the 2010 America East Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championship presented by Newman's Own. The top seeded Hawks will take on the winner of the first round match up between the #8 Maine Black Bears and the #9 New Hampshire Wildcats in the quarterfinal round.