April 15, 2008

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Marist head women's basketball coach Brian Giorgis and sophomore forward Rachele Fitz (Seven Hills, Ohio) were given honors by the Met Basketball Writers Association on Tuesday. Giorgis was named a co-winner of the Maggie Dixon Coach of the Year award with C. Vivian Stringer of Rutgers, and Fitz was named to the All-Met First Team.

Giorgis led the Red Foxes to a school-record 32 wins and an undefeated 18-0 mark in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Marist won its fifth straight regular season title and third consecutive tournament title this season. He also led Marist to a win over DePaul in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Red Foxes have increased their win total every season since Giorgis came to Marist for the 2002-03 season.

Fitz joins Matee Ajavon, Essence Carson, and Kia Vaughn of Rutgers, as well as Valerie Nainima of Long Island University on the All-Met First Team. She set new single-season Marist records for points scored with 649 points, field goals made with 224, free throws made with 201, and free throw percentage making 86.6% of her free throws. Fitz also became the first sophomore in program history to score 1,000 career points. For the 2007-08 season, Fitz averaged 18.5 points and 7.4 rebounds a game while shooting 55.6% from the field.

All-Met players and coaches will be honored Thursday evening, April 17, at the Giants Stadium Club in East Rutherford, N.J.