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the news to his Vermont teammate. Coppenrath's season was over. Sorrentine thought Coppenrath was kidding. He wasn't. Coppenrath, last season's America East player of the year, had just scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the Catamounts' loss to Boston University -- Vermont's only American East blemish. But that soreness he was feeling for two games in his left wrist was indeed a broken bone. An X-ray on Feb. 16 confirmed the junior forward would miss the final three weeks of the season. Just like that, Vermont had lost the nation's third-leading scorer (24.0 ppg). And just like that the Catamounts wouldn't be going to Washington or Colorado or Florida or North Carolina or New York or ... well, anywhere they thought they might travel to play a first-round NCAA Tournament game. Suddenly, thoughts of a second straight America East title were fading fast, likely gone with BU cruising along with 19 wins in its last 20 games. The Catamounts' chances of getting the conference's No. 1 seed, not to mention a first-ever appearance by ESPN at Patrick Gym for the America East final, are now highly unlikely. The bottom line: Getting back to the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive year is now a longshot. To dance again this year, Vermont will need T.J. Sorrentine to supply even more than his 15.5 ppg. Vermont coach Tom Brennan said the Catamounts played like a team feeling sorry for itself in their first game without Coppenrath. Vermont, winners of 12 of its 13 American East games with Coppenrath, trailed at Hartford (9-15) by seven at halftime before David Hehn's shot from the corner at the buzzer lifted the 'Cats to a 47-45 victory. Three days later, the Cats lost at New Hampshire (8-18) by 21. "For us, it is hard to believe that one guy has made such a difference, but it has," Brennan said.
Approximate Word count = 1214
Approximate Pages = 4.9
(250 words per page double spaced)
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