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LANCASTER, PA -- USA Today, the nation's only best selling national newspaper, has selected Franklin & Marshall College forward Alex Kraft (Sr., Lansdale, PA/Lansdale Catholic) and point guard Amy Kreitz (Sr., Allentown, PA/Salisbury) as among the top players in Division III in the newspaper's November 9 weekend edition. Kraft leads a men's hoops team which was selected as a national championship contender by the newspaper as the Diplomats return 12 lettermen and all five starters to a team which finished 18-7 overall, 10-4 in Centennial Conference play last season. A two-time All-America pick, Kraft repeated as Centennial Conference Player of the Year, was named to the Eastern College Division III Men's Southern Basketball First Team and the NABC Middle Atlantic Region All-District Team for the second consecutive year in 2001. A 2000 First Team and 2001 Honorable Mention All-America pick by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), Kraft averaged 16.9 points, a team best, in 35 minutes per game as F&M captured the Centennial Conference Western Division title. Selected a pre-season All-American by D3Hoops.com, Street & Smith, Columbus Multimedia and Preview Sports magazine last year, Kraft was recently named a 2002 pre-season First Team All-American by Street & Smith following an Honorable Mention nod as a sophomore in 2000. He shot 47.3 percent from the field (142-300), 38.2 percent from three-point range (26-68) and 75.8 percent at the foul-line (119-157) while registering 7.2 rebounds per game during his junior season. In the final 2000-2001 Centennial Conference statistics, Kraft ranked sixth in scoring (17.2), eighth in rebounding (7.2), 12th in assists (2.56), eighth in free-throw percentage (75.8%), 14th in three-pointers per game (1.04), seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.25), seventh in offensive rebounds (2.48) and 10th in defensive rebounds (4.72) per game. Historically, Kraft has scored 1,269 points and needs 16 to overtake Swarthmore's Tim Schofield, who posted 1,284 from 1996-99, for seventh place on the all-time Centennial Conference scoring leader board. A double-double threat, he became only the eleventh player to collect 500-plus career rebounds and now has 551, nine away from surpassing Hopkins' Greg Roehrig for 10th place in the all-time records of the conference. In school history, Kraft is quickly closing in on several records, including the all-time scoring record of Don Marsh '79 who registered 1,695 points. Currently, Kraft is 12th in career scoring, three points behind F&M Hall of Fame member Dave Jannetta '95. A 2001 Women's Basketball Coach Association/Kodak and D3Hoops.com Women's Basketball Honorable Mention All-American, Kreitz became the first F&M women's basketball player to earn Centennial Conference Player of the Year laurels in 2001 as the Diplomats finished 17-8, 11-4 in Centennial Conference play. A two-time first-team All-Centennial guard, Kreitz became only the fourth Diplomat to register a conference "MVP" season joining Anne Krumrine (1989), Cathy Belser (1990) and Carrie Bowen (1992, 1993) who earned Middle Atlantic Conference Southwest Player of the Year honors. A member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Southern Region First Team and WBCA/Kodak All-Region District 4 team, Kreitz is the tenth women's player in school history to record 1,000 points and was named a first-team All-CC team member for the second consecutive year. Her selection to the All Centennial Conference First Team marked the second straight year on the top squad and the third season the Conference coaches honored the Allentown native as she received an Honorable Mention nod as a freshman in 1999. The 5'6" guard finished first in steals (3.72) and scoring per game (18.4), fifth in three-point field goal percentage (38.7), seventh in free-throw percentage (73.1) and 13th in three-pointers per game (1.16) in the Centennial Conference as F&M advanced to the ECAC Championship field before falling to CC foe Western Maryland in the opening round. In addition, she joined Krumrine and Bowen as the only players in F&M history to record All-American women's basketball seasons. In her three year career at F&M, Kreitz now stands at 1,139 career points, good for eighth place all-time at the college having displaced 1997 graduate Aurora Gonzalez's 1,034 during the 2001 season. Further, in Kreitz's 74 career games with the Diplomats, she has registered 161 assists, 195 steals and 361 rebounds. In 2001 alone, she would register 59 assists, 93 steals and 128 boards as the Diplomats advanced to the semi-finals of the Centennial Conference playoffs. In addition, she would record nine twenty point scoring nights, including a season high 26 twice. In a game against #1 nationally ranked and NCAA Division III Championship game participant Messiah last January, she poured in 24 points to lead the Diplomats to a stunning 72-71 win, one of only four losses the Falcons (26-5) suffered during the regular season. This weekend, Franklin & Marshall will tip-off the 2001-02 season as both the men's and women's squads will be at home in the Mayser Center in season-opening tournaments. On Friday and Saturday, the F&M men will return to the court in the 35th Annual S. Woodrow Sponaugle Basketball Classic. Historically a showdown between Elizabethtown, Millersville, York, F&M and Lebanon Valley College, the tournament's focus has shifted for the 35th edition to feature some of the best teams in the history of NCAA Division III. The 2001 tournament will feature four teams with a combined 55 NCAA Division III tournament appearances, 9 Final Fours and two national championships. First round pairings will be Salem State-Scranton at 6:00 and F&M-Springfield at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, November 16 with the consolation and championship games set for 6 and 8 p.m. on Saturday, November 17. The tournament could be entitled the "Final Four" Sponaugle Tournament as the Diplomats will face off with teams they have not played since "Final Four" seasons in 2000 (Salem State), 1996 (Scranton) and 1979 (Springfield). On Saturday and Sunday, the women's squad will look to knock off Lycoming, Rosemont and Waynesburg in the Annual Diplomat Tip-Off Tournament. Game times are set for 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. both days as the Diplomats will take to the hardwood against Waynesburg in the early game on Saturday afternoon. If F&M should win, they will face the winner of the Lycoming-Rosemont game at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.
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