The men's and women's basketball teams had four players receive postseason awards this season. Jason Forte '05, Holly Robertson '05 and Sarah Hayes '06 were all named First Team All-Ivy, while Damon Huffman '08 was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year.
Forte, a co-captain and the lone senior on the men's team, became the third Brown player to be named to the first team three consecutive years. He ended his career as the third-leading scorer in Brown's history with 1,597 points, first all-time in steals with 192 and second in assists with 524.
"Sometimes I take (All-Ivy) for granted because I've been on it the previous two years, but it's still a great honor," said Forte.
This was the second consecutive season that Forte led the Ivies in scoring this year at 18.4 points per contest. He was especially strong over the last week and a half, scoring 20 or more points in his final five games.
"Individually, yeah, it definitely caps off the season well for me," Forte said. "You would like to be able to go to the (NCAA) Tournament as a senior, but this is the next best thing for me."
Huffman, meanwhile, is Brown's third men's basketball Rookie of the Year. He was the highest scoring first-year in the Ancient Eight, averaging 8.4 points per game. Just like Forte, Huffman ended the season hot, scoring a career-high 18 points against Yale in the final game of the season, improving upon his previous high of 17 set just four days prior. A threat from long range, Huffman connected on 41.5 percent of his three-point attempts.
After winning its most games since the 1993-1994 season, the women's team was the only Ivy team to have two members on the first team, making them the fifth Brown basketball team to have achieved such a feat.
A guard with a playing style similar to Forte's, Hayes had been given honorable mention in 2003 and 2004 and was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2003. The co-captain was one of two unanimous selections to the team, along with Player of the Year Reka Cserny of Harvard.
Hayes led the Ivies in steals at 2.9 per game. She was also second in the league in offensive rebounding, led the Bears in scoring during league play with 15.4 points per game and was second in rebounding with an average of 6.6 boards. Additionally, Hayes was fourth in the league in field goal percentage, shooting over 50 percent in nine of 14 Ivy games.
In a league full of quality post players, Robertson was named to the first team for the first time in her career. The 6'5" pivot was third in the league, and first on the team, in scoring at 14.9 points per game and second in rebounding at 8.7 boards per contest.
"It was definitely an honor to be chosen for the team," Robertson said. "There was solid competition throughout the Ivy League for the post position. It was an honor to be chosen by the other coaches. Accolades stem from a good season and the whole team contributed to that."
Often drawing triple teams on the block, Robertson was tied for the league lead in double-doubles with nine. She also scored over 20 points in five games.
- With reporting by Assistant Sports Editor Stephen Colelli
