Tartans Tabbed Seventh in UAA Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
Nov. 2 – (ROCHESTER, N.Y.) – The Carnegie Mellon University men’s basketball team has been picked seventh in the 2009-2010 University Athletic Association (UAA) preseason poll as announced Monday, November 2. The voting was conducted among the league’s head coaches.
For the third straight season Washington University is predicted first, as the Bears claimed seven first place votes. The Bears enter the 2009-10 season coming off back-to-back national titles and three consecutive trips to the “Final Four.”
Brandeis University is picked to finish second and received the remaining first-place vote. Last season, the Judges fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Rounding out the remaining teams in the poll are the University of Rochester, New York University, the University of Chicago, Case Western Reserve University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Emory University.
The Tartans are coming off the most successful season in the 104-year history of the program, as the team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time and matched the school record for wins in a season with a 20-7 record.
The Cardinal and Gray return two starters, senior guard
Jack Anderson (Beaver Falls, Pa.) and junior forward
Shane Rife (Greencastle, Pa./James Buchanan), from the record-breaking season. Returning for a fifth year of eligibility is graduate student forward
Jon Wolleben (Plattsburgh, N.Y.), who received a medical hardship waiver. Anderson was the Tartans’ second leading scorer last season, averaging 14.1 points per contest. The senior scored in double figures in 22-of-27 games and finished the regular season ranked eighth in the UAA in scoring. Anderson enters the campaign in 11th place on the school’s all-time three-point field goal list with 80 and needs 219 points to become the 18th Tartan to reach 1,000 points.
Rife and Wolleben will be looked upon to head the frontcourt along with junior
Matt Pettit (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer). Rife started 25 games and was the team’s third leading scorer, averaging 9.2 points per game. The six-foot-six junior hauled in 3.6 rebounds per game and was second on the team with 21 blocked shots. Wolleben brings valuable experience to the court, having appeared in 81 games during his career. He averaged 5.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game while shooting 78 percent from the charity stripe last season. Pettit has appeared in 51 games through his first two seasons as a Tartan. The junior played less than 10 minutes per contest last season while averaging 3.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.
Sophomore swingman
John Duhring (Round Hill, Va./St. Maria Goretti), who saw action in every game last season, returns after averaging 2.8 points per game and shooting 38 percent from behind the arc. Senior
Dan Lavallee (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny), who sat out last season with an injury, along with classmate
Dan Bruce (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) and sophomores
Max Gordon (Meredith, N.H./Phillips Exeter Academy),
Bryan Good (State College, Pa.) and
Joe Kromka (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) will also add experience and depth at guard.
The coaching staff will look to senior
Dan Sawl (Irwin, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) and sophomore
Jackson Read (Santa Barbara, Calif./Cate School) to add depth inside. Sawl has averaged 3.2 points and 1.4 rebounds in 29 games during his two-year career.
A class of four incoming freshmen join the Tartans:
Stephane Batton (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny),
Andre Moore (Bowie, Md./Archbishop Spalding),
Christian Shepley (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) and
Chad Stein (Ottawa Hills, Ohio/St. John’s Jesuit). Shepley and Moore will look for immediate playing time while Batton and Stein will add depth to the frontcourt.
The complete 2009-2010 UAA Coaches Poll can be found below.
Place/School
1. Washington (7)
2. Brandeis (1)
3. Rochester
4. NYU
5. Chicago
6. Case
7. Carnegie Mellon
8. Emory
