Jan. 8, 2003
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State men's soccer team has placed five players on the Academic All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation team. Brian Barnes, Abraham Martinez, Chris Novak, Paul Szefler and Tyler Tinling were honored by the conference for maintaining a 3.0 or better cumulative grade point average.
It is the third straight year that Martinez and Tinling earn the MPSF's academic honor, while Barnes receives his second award and Novak and Szefler receive their first recognition. The SDSU soccer program has placed at least three players on the conference all-academic in each of its four years in the MPSF.
It marks the second postseason academic honor for Barnes and Szefler, who were also selected to the 2002 District VIII Verizon Academic All-America First Team. Barnes, a senior goalkeeper who completed his SDSU career as the program's all-time leader in career saves (282) and season saves (98 in 2002), maintained a 3.70 GPA in kinesiology over the past semester. Barnes is one of only six players this season to pull off the feat of earning All-MPSF honors for achievements on the field (second-team goalkeeper) and in academics, and his 3.70 GPA was the highest among those players.
Sophomore midfielder Szefler, who tallied team-high totals in goals (7) and points (17) this season and has played in all of SDSU's 38 matches in his career, earned a 3.75 GPA in biology.
Martinez and Tinling complete their SDSU careers with three consecutive MPSF academic honors. Martinez, a senior defender who was the most tenured player on the Aztecs this season with 63 career matches played, recorded a 3.56 GPA in fitness, nutrition and health. Tinling, a senior forward/midfielder with career marks of 14 goals and three assists, registered a 3.24 GPA in international business.
In receiving his first MPSF academic award, Novak, a junior midfielder who tallied an assist in 15 games in 2002, registered a 3.06 GPA in psychology.