Nov. 18, 2010

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Three South Carolina men's soccer players have garnered ESPN Academic All-America honors, as senior goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer was named to the first team, and classmates Blake Brettschneider and Will Traynor garnered third-team selections. To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00 and have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his current institution.

Maurer earns Academic All-America honors for the second time in his career, as he was a second-team selection in 2009. He enters NCAA Tournament action with a 1.08 goals against average and eight shutouts on the year, while Maurer also collected the first two assists of his career during the regular season. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native owns 27 career shutouts, which ranks second all-time in South Carolina history. He was named to the All-Conference USA Second Team and was a Conference USA All-Academic Team selection.

Brettschneider's selection is the first of his career. The Conference USA Co-MVP and Co-Offensive Player of the Year, Brettschneider leads South Carolina with seven goals and nine assists, also a C-USA best, with 23 points thus far in 2010. The Lilburn, Ga., native tallied at least one point in each C-USA regular-season contest, while he also scored goals versus UAB and No. 5 SMU in postseason tournament play. Brettschneider enters NCAA Tournament action with 19 career goals and 16 assists. He was named to the All-Conference USA First Team, and was a Conference USA All-Academic Team and All-Tournament Team selection.

Traynor's selection is also the first of his career. A member of the Conference USA All-Tournament Team, Traynor has been a mainstay in the starting lineup throughout his career. His six goals in 2010 is a career best, while he has helped South Carolina secure eight shutouts in contests he has played. Traynor has scored two game-winning goals in 2010, at then-No. 5 Tulsa in October, and most recently, in Carolina's 2-1 win over then-No. 5 SMU in the C-USA Tournament semifinals. He was named to the All-Conference USA First Team and was a Conference USA All-Academic Team selection.

South Carolina will host the winner of the Coastal Carolina vs. Duke contest on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks have earned the No. 7 national seed in the event. Continue to visit GamecocksOnline.com for NCAA Tournament updates.

FIRST TEAM
Pos.	Name	School	Dist.	Yr.	Hometown	GPA	Major
GK	Jimmy Maurer (2)	South Carolina	III	Sr.	Lawrenceville, Ga.	3.94	Finance, Marketing
D	Conner Burt (1)	Butler	V	Sr.	Elkhart, Ind.	3.96	Economics
D	Kyle Knotek	Northern Illinois	V	Sr.	Geneva, Ill.	4.00	Business Admin.
D	Michael Perry	Denver	VII	Sr.	Overland Park, Kan.	3.98	Finance
D	Kofi Sarkodie (1)	Akron	IV	Jr.	Huber Heights, Ohio	3.96	Biology
M	Eric Detzel	Mount St. Mary's	II	Sr.	York, Pa.	3.85	Computer Science, Math.
M	Sean O'Reilly	Saint Francis (Pa.)	II	Sr.	Front Royal, Va.	3.98	Management Inf. Systems
M	Ben Sippola	Butler	V	Sr.	Northfield, Minn.	3.72	English Literature
F	Perez Agaba	IUPUI	V	Jr.	Kampala, Uganda	4.00	Biomedical Engineering
F	Mike Luttrull (2)	Evansville	V	Sr.	Avon, Ind.	3.78	Accounting
F	Joe Touloumis (3)	Marist	I	Sr.	Cranford, N.J.	3.91	Business Ad., Finance

SECOND TEAM
Pos.	Name	School	Dist.	Yr.	Hometown	GPA	Major
D	Chad Barson	Akron	IV	So.	Lewis Center, Ohio	4.00	Biology
D	Alex Foskett	U.S. Naval Acad.	II	Sr.	Manassas, Va.	3.73	Electrical Engineering
D	Will Martin	Loyola (Ill.)	V	Sr.	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	3.97	Biology
D	Bobby Warshaw (2)	Stanford	VIII	Sr.	Mechanicsburg, Pa.	3.57	Political Science
M	Ben Havey	Boston University	I	Gr.	Preston, England	3.67	Admin. Studies (Fin. Eco.)
M	Heath Melugin	Missouri State	VII	Jr.	Springfield, Mo.	3.96	Cell & Molecular Biology
M	Christopher Tweed-Kent	Duke	III	Jr.	Pittsfield, Mass.	3.79	Mechanical Engineering
F	Phil Bannister	Loyola (Md.)	II	Sr.	Wallsend, England	3.47	Business Marketing
F	Patrick Fleming	Saint Francis (Pa.)	II	Sr.	Dunedin, New Zealand	3.44	Business Management
F	Dominique Yahyavi	Stanford	VIII	Sr.	Santa Barbara, Cal.	3.75	Computer Science

THIRD TEAM
Pos.	Name	School	Dist.	Yr.	Hometown	GPA	Major
D	Corey Attaway	California-Irvine	VIII	Sr.	Chino, Calif.	3.65	Criminology, Law & Society
D	Nick Dundon	LaSalle	II	Jr.	Horsham, Pa.	3.95	Biology
D	James "Adam" Still	SMU	VI	Jr.	Colleyville, Texas	3.93	Business Administration
D	Will Traynor	South Carolina	III	Sr.	St. Charles, Mo.	3.77	Sport & Entertainment Mgt.
M	Anthony Ampaipitakwong	Akron	IV	Sr.	Carrollton, Texas	3.34	Sports Management
M	Sam Miller	U.S. Naval Academy	II	Jr.	Tulsa, Okla.	3.93	Mechanical Engineering
M	Shawn Sloan	High Point	III	So.	Geneva, Ill.	4.00	Chemistry
F	Blake Brettschneider	South Carolina	III	Sr.	Lilburn, Ga.	3.71	Public Relations
F	Alex Mangan	DePaul	V	Gr.	Wheaton, Ill.	3.51	Organizational Comm.
F	Brent Richards	Washington	VIII	Jr.	Camas, Wash.	3.74	Undeclared

ESPN Academic All-America of the Year: Kofi Sarkodie, Akron

(1) ESPN Academic All-America 1st Team in 2009
(2) ESPN Academic All-America 2nd Team in 2009
(3) ESPN Academic All-America 3rd Team in 2009