UAlbany's Valerie Sourbeer & Fey Adaramola Among America East Woman of the Year Nominees

Cambridge, Mass. -- University at Albany's Fey Adaramola and Valerie Sourbeer are among thirteen student-athletes who are institutional nominees for 2010 America East Woman of the Year award as announced on Tuesday, May 11 by the conference office.

Binghamton University's Amanda Casares (soccer) and Dawn Lammert (volleyball), Boston University's Emily Pallotta (soccer), University of Hartford's Erica Beverly (basketball) and Sadie Heald (golf), University of Maine's Alexis Souhlaris (softball) and Vicki Tolton (track & field), UMBC's Alice Chen (tennis), University of New Hampshire's Kirsten Bates (volleyball), Stony Brook University's Alyssa Struzenberg (softball) and University of Vermont's May Kotsopoulos (basketball) have been chosen as the senior female student-athletes on their respective campuses that best exemplified a commitment to service, leadership, athletics and academics during their collegiate careers.

Sourbeer, a senior outside hitter on the women's volleyball team, recently received the Chancellor's Scholar-Athlete Award, plus earned an ECAC Merit Medal as the school's top senior female student-athlete in the current academic year. She was chosen the 2009 America East Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the sport of volleyball. Sourbeer, a first-team all-conference selection, led her team to a 22-9 record and the conference's regular-season crown. She has a 3.65 cumulative GPA in business administration.

Adaramola, a senior on the women's track and field team, also received an ECAC Merit Medal for the 2009-10 academic year. She has a 3.34 GPA in human biology. Adaramola led UAlbany to its second straight America East outdoor championship by defending her 100-meter dash title. She also anchored the winning 4x100-meter relay to a school-record time. During the indoor season, Adaramola was named the America East's Most Outstanding Track Performer after finishing first in the 55- and 200-meter events and leading her team to its first-ever indoor championship. She was chosen the America East Indoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

To be nominated, student-athletes must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2010 spring season or received her undergraduate degree prior to the conclusion of the summer 2010 term and have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.500 (4.000 scale).

In conjunction with the changes in the nomination process for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, the America East Woman of the Year award was established for the 2005-06 athletic season. Beginning in 2006, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics (CWA) started receiving conference-designated nominees in lieu of the previous institution- and state-based nomination format.
The nominees will be narrowed down to three finalists on Tuesday, June 1 via a release on the conference web site with the America East Woman of the Year being announced at the conference's Annual Meeting in Lake Placid, N.Y. on Monday, June 7.

The America East Woman of the Year will then be forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee. The selection committee will select the top 10 winners in each NCAA division (I, II and III). From among those 30 honorees, the selection committee will determine the top three in each division. Finally, the members of the CWA will vote from among the top nine to determine the 2010 NCAA Woman of the Year.

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information