Postseason Awards Continue To Rain Upon Men?s Soccer Squad

DURHAM, N.C. --- Adding on to the men's soccer team hardware this season are defender Tim Jepson, who was named to the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award first team of finalists, and Jepson and midfielders Joe Germanese and Michael Videira, who earned NSCAA Scholar-Athlete All-America team honors.

Despite missing the first 10 games due to a high hamstring injury, Jepson came back to start 10 straight games and log 797 minutes in captaining Duke's defense for the second year in a row. He recorded one assist and two shots. Jepson was named to the Academic All-District second team for the second year in a row and was named to the All-ACC and All-South Region second teams. The senior from Yorba Linda, Calif., was also one of 19 national semifinalists for the all-collegiate sports Wooden Cup.

The Lowe's Senior CLASS Award is presented annually in eight NCAA Division I sports to a student athlete who excels both on and off the field. From the 10 national finalists, Evan Barnes of the United States Naval Academy was selected the winner. Five finalists, including Barnes and Jepson, were placed on the first team and the five remaining finalists earned second team accolades.

Germanese was second on the Blue Devil team with seven assists this year, and contributed three goals on 26 shots. The senior from St. Louis, Mo., ranked fourth on the squad with 13 points. Germanese started 19 games, missing only one match due to injury, and logged 1,313 minutes. He was named to the Academic All-America second team and to the All-South Region third team. Germanese has been invited to the 2008 MLS Combine in January.

Videira, a native of Milford, Mass., was a Hermann Trophy semifinalist for the third consecutive season. He started 15 matches and played 1,215 minutes despite battling through a leg injury. Videira helped the Blue Devils with two goals and three assists and ran the offense from the center midfield position. The senior captain earned third team All-America and Academic All-America honors for the second straight year. For the fourth consecutive season Videira earned All-South Region accolades. He has been invited to the 2008 MLS Combine and finishes his collegiate career as one of the most decorated men's soccer players ever to put on the Blue Devil uniform.

The NSCAA Scholar-Athlete All-America award is similar to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors that were announced last month. Recipients will be recognized at the NSCAA Convention in Baltimore, Md., on January 19.

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