July 19, 2005

ORONO, Maine-- The University of Maine had three student-athletes named the top scholar-athletes in their respective sports by America East. Kim Corbitt (Albany, N.Y.), a member of the women's basketball team, and Aaron Izaryk (Markham, Ontario), a member the baseball team, received honors for the second year in a row, while Erin Hatch (Saco, Maine), a member of the women's outdoor track team, was honored for the first time.

Corbitt will graduate in August with a degree in biological engineering and a double minor in biomedical engineering and mathematics. She was named the America East Player of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year in 2005, becoming the first player to win both awards in the same year. Corbitt also won the M Club Dean Smith Award, presented annually to the top male and female athlete at UMaine. She averaged 9.1 ppg and 4.3 assists per game as a senior and finished second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.82. Her 436 career assists rank third all-time at Maine. The Black Bears finished the season 20-10 and won their third consecutive America East Regular Season Championship. Maine earned a berth in the 2005 Women's National Invitational Tournament and traveled to West Virginia to face the Mountaineers. Corbitt is a UMaine Scholar-Athlete Award winner and has also been named to the America East Academic Honor Roll.

Izaryk, who will graduate in December with a degree in kinesiology and physical education, wrapped up an outstanding career with the Black Bears this spring. He won the M Club Dean Smith Award, presented annually to the top male and female athlete at UMaine. Izaryk was named a 2005 Second Team Academic All-American, becoming the first Black Bear baseball player to earn first or second team honors. He was named to the America East First Team for the third time and also received America East All-Tournament Team honors. He was named to the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association Second Team. Izaryk batted .332 with 35 runs scored, 30 RBI and 15 doubles. He led Maine to the 2005 America East Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament where Maine won a game for the first time since the 1991 season. Izaryk is a UMaine-Scholar Athlete Award winner and has also been named to the America East Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll.

Hatch is a sophomore psychology major. She was named to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District women's track and cross country team. Hatch won the 2005 America East Outdoor Championship in the high jump, clearing 1.58 meters. In the 2005 America East Indoor Championships, she was seventh in the high jump, while in 2004 she was fifth in the high jump. Hatch is a UMaine Scholar-Athlete Award winner and also was named to the America East Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll.

A committee of athletics administrators and NCAA Faculty Athletics Representatives chose an honoree in each of the conference's 22 championship sports. The scholar-athletes were selected from the more than 3,500 student-athletes who competed at America East institutions in 2004-05. Each honoree was a starter or prominent reserve and carries a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.20.

Each of the winners from the 22 individual sport winners are eligible for the Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, given to the top men's and women's scholar-athlete in America East as determined by a committee of athletics administrators and NCAA Faculty Athletics Representatives.

America East institutions in 2004-05 included Albany, Binghamton, Boston University, University of Hartford, Maine, UMBC, New Hampshire, Northeastern University, Stony Brook University and Vermont.

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