Booth, Blackstock Earn NSCAA Scholar All-Region Honors
12/14/2016 11:19:00 AM | Men's Soccer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Mercer goalkeeper Jeremy Booth and defenseman Airrion Blackstock were named Scholar All-South Region student-athletes by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), continuing an impressive run of academic success by the Bears.
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The duo was named to the 12-man Second Team, marking the eighth and ninth players during head coach Brad Ruzzo's nine-year tenure to be recognized with NSCAA Scholar All-South Region honors. Booth and Blackstock are the Southern Conference's only representatives on either the first or second teams.
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Student-athletes receiving Scholar All-Region recognition at the NCAA Division I level must own a 3.30 grade point average, start more than 50 percent of all games with significant contribution and be a junior or above in academic standing.
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Booth, a redshirt junior and industrial engineering major, posted a 12-7-1 record in goal during his second year as Mercer's starting keeper. The All-SoCon Second Team honoree saved his best performances for Mercer's SoCon Championship run, when he was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player for posting a pair of clean sheets.
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Blackstock, a fellow junior and accounting major, started every match for a third consecutive season and logged the second-most minutes among Mercer players while anchoring a stout back line. The Marietta, Georgia, product helped the Bears notch eight shutouts and lead the league in goals against average (0.93). He was named to the SoCon All-Tournament Team and has earned at least one postseason honor every year of his career so far.
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Mercer now has four players, including Booth and Blackstock, who have earned academic honors this season; Gabe Tucker was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District IV Team and Jake Mezei won the inaugural SoCon Pinnacle Award at the SoCon Tournament.
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FOLLOW THE BEARSÂ
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's Soccer, please follow the Bears on social media at @Mercer_MSoccer (Twitter) and /MercerMSoccer (Facebook) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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2016 NSCAA NCAA Division I Men's Scholar All-South Region Teams
First Team
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Second Team
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The duo was named to the 12-man Second Team, marking the eighth and ninth players during head coach Brad Ruzzo's nine-year tenure to be recognized with NSCAA Scholar All-South Region honors. Booth and Blackstock are the Southern Conference's only representatives on either the first or second teams.
Â
Student-athletes receiving Scholar All-Region recognition at the NCAA Division I level must own a 3.30 grade point average, start more than 50 percent of all games with significant contribution and be a junior or above in academic standing.
Â
Booth, a redshirt junior and industrial engineering major, posted a 12-7-1 record in goal during his second year as Mercer's starting keeper. The All-SoCon Second Team honoree saved his best performances for Mercer's SoCon Championship run, when he was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player for posting a pair of clean sheets.
Â
Blackstock, a fellow junior and accounting major, started every match for a third consecutive season and logged the second-most minutes among Mercer players while anchoring a stout back line. The Marietta, Georgia, product helped the Bears notch eight shutouts and lead the league in goals against average (0.93). He was named to the SoCon All-Tournament Team and has earned at least one postseason honor every year of his career so far.
Â
Mercer now has four players, including Booth and Blackstock, who have earned academic honors this season; Gabe Tucker was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District IV Team and Jake Mezei won the inaugural SoCon Pinnacle Award at the SoCon Tournament.
Â
FOLLOW THE BEARSÂ
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's Soccer, please follow the Bears on social media at @Mercer_MSoccer (Twitter) and /MercerMSoccer (Facebook) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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2016 NSCAA NCAA Division I Men's Scholar All-South Region Teams
First Team
| POS. | PLAYER | CLASS | SCHOOL | MAJOR | HOMETOWN |
| K | Stephen McCauley | Sr. | NC State | Business Administration | Marietta, Ga. |
| D | Torgeir Fjaer | Jr. | Georgia Southern | Accounting | Trondheim, Norway |
| D | Emil Laursen | Jr. | Georgia Southern | Economics | Silksborg, Denmark |
| D | Carter Manley | Jr. | Duke | Political Science | Elkridge, Md. |
| D | Kevin Politz | Jr. | Wake Forest | Mathematical Business | Morganville, N.J. |
| D | Lars Willemse | Sr. | UAB | Marketing | Veenendaal, Netherlands |
| M | Brandt Bronico | Sr. | Charlotte | Accounting | High Point, N.C. |
| M | Jacori Hayes | Sr. | Wake Forest | Physics | Bowie, Md. |
| M | Ian Harkes | Sr. | Wake Forest | Enterprise Management | Fairfax, Va. |
| M | David October | Jr. | North Carolina | Business Administration | Cambridge, England |
| F | Adam Abdellaoui | Jr. | Georgia Southern | Pre-Computer Science | Alpharetta, Ga. |
| F | Stephen Chapman | Sr. | Appalachian State | Actuarial Science | Greensboro, N.C. |
| F | Matt Rogers | Sr. | Oral Roberts | Business Administration | Broken Arrow, Okla. |
Second Team
| POS. | PLAYER | CLASS | SCHOOL | MAJOR | HOMETOWN |
| K | Jeremy Booth | Jr. | Mercer | Industrial Engineering | Norcross, Ga. |
| D | Airrion Blackstock | Jr. | Mercer | Accounting | Marietta, Ga. |
| D | Markus Fjortoft | Jr. | Duke | Cultural Anthropology | Asker, Norway |
| D | Mathieu Laurent | Jr. | UAB | Business | Markham, Ont. |
| D | Ben Steen | Sr. | Appalachian State | Finance and Banking | Mooresville, N.C. |
| M | Cody Brinkman | Jr. | Duke | Electrical/Computer Engineering | Durham, N.C. |
| M | Aidan Reising | Sr. | Georgia Southern | Information Technology | Gainesville, Ga. |
| M | Henrique Sposito | Sr. | UAB | Sociology | Campinas, Brazil |
| M | Thorvaldur Sveinbjoernsson | Jr. | Georgia Southern | Accounting | Hafnarfjordur, Iceland |
| M | Zhuvonte Wilson | Sr. | Charlotte | Japanese and Business | Charlotte, N.C. |
| F | Milan Kovacs | Sr. | North Florida | Business | Bonyhad, Hungary |
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Players Mentioned
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