Dec. 8, 2009
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.–The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team has earned its seventh straight National Soccer Coaches Association of America Team Academic award. The award is given to teams that achieve a 3.0 grade point average or higher.
“This is great recognition,” said Lobo head coach Jeremy Fishbein. “It characterizes what our program is about and the emphasis we place on academic success. I’m really proud of our guys, not just as individuals, but also as a team. Excellence in the classroom, excellence in the community, and excellence on the playing field is what we’re all about. This will continue to be a priority of ours and it has to be a priority for our players.”
The Lobos have continually garnered postseason academic awards, and the program has achieved a GPA above 3.2 as a team since the fall of 2003. New Mexico has had at least one player earn ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors since 2003 as well. Senior central defender Simon Ejdemyr kept the streak alive this year with a first team nod.
In addition, Ejdemyr was the top vote-getter of all Division I athletes who were nominated. He was named the winner of the Academic All-America of the Year award in the University Division. Ejdemyr earned first team honors for the second year in a row, and is a three-time member of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Men’s Soccer University Division team.