KRISTEN PATTERSON NAMED AIC HEAD WOMEN’S BASKETBALL COACH

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (June 14, 2007) – Agawam, Mass. native Kristen Patterson, an assistant coach for the American International College women’s basketball team for the past four seasons and a former standout for the Yellow Jackets, has been named the fifth head coach in AIC women’s basketball history, it was announced by AIC Director of Athletics Richard Bedard at a press conference on Thursday.

She replaces Peter Cinella, who resigned last week to take over the women’s basketball program at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Patterson, who is currently the seventh-youngest head coach in Division II women’s basketball, will begin her new duties immediately.

“When Peter informed me he was leaving, I knew we already had the right candidate to take over the program in Kristen,” said Bedard. “She is one of many local student-athletes who have excelled here at AIC and she has had a big hand in our success in women’s basketball both as   player and as a coach. I have no doubt that under Kristen’s guidance our women’s basketball program will not skip a beat.”

A 2002 graduate of American International with a degree in Business Management who later went on to earn her MBA at the College, Patterson has spent the last four seasons as Cinella’s top assistant. Over that span, the Yellow Jackets posted a combined 94-31 (.752) record with four NCAA Tournament appearances and a berth in the NCAA Division II national championship game in 2006 after capturing the Northeast Region championship. Last season the Yellow Jackets posted a 21-8 mark and finished in a second-place tie in the Northeast-10.

As a player, Patterson, a three-year captain for the Yellow Jackets, led AIC to the NCAA Tournament as a sophomore, junior and senior, culminating with a school-record 28-4 mark and the program’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II “Elite Eight” in 2002. A two-time Northeast-10 All-Conference selection who earned First Team honors as a senior, Patterson holds school records for career assists (557) and made free throws (511) while being ranked fourth in career scoring (1,539 points).

Over her four-year career she led the Yellow Jackets to an 88-34 (.721) mark and topped the team in steals and assists in each of her four seasons while averaging 17.3 points as a senior. Arguably the greatest female student-athlete to attend American International in its history, Patterson also excelled on the soccer pitch and the softball diamond. In soccer, she remains the leading scorer in program history with 49 goals and 31 assists for 129 points and led the Yellow Jackets to a NCAA Tournament berth in 1998. She was also named the 1998 Northeast-10 Freshman of the Year and 2000 NE-10 Player of the Year.  In softball, Patterson played during the 2002 and 2003 seasons and was a member of AIC’s last NCAA Tournament team in 2003. Patterson currently resides in Agawam.


FOR TRANSACTIONS: AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL – Named Kristen Patterson head women’s basketball coach.