Jan. 15, 2016
Denver, Colo. - San José State men's soccer student-athletes Emmanuel Espinoza, Eric Mendez, Victor Parra, Felix Petermann, Jonathan Colunga and Rory Knibbs have been named Academic All-Western Athletic Conference (WAC) honorees for the 2015.
Espinosa, a senior keeper out of San Jose's Evergreen Valley High School posted a 3.259 GPA. Majoring in communications, he started in all 12 matches in which he appeared in 2015. Espinosa posted a 1.55 goals against average, 10th highest in the WAC, a save percentage of .742, fifth best in the league and his 49 saves ranked sixth in the WAC. Among his four wins, he posted one clean sheet.
Mendez, a senior midfielder from Santa Cruz, Calif., and Harbor High School, posted a 3.425 GPA. Majoring in marketing, he earned seven starts in 15 appearances in 2015. He had one assist and attempted 15 shots.
Parra, a senior midfielder from Central Falls, Rhode Island, posted a 3.216 GPA. Majoring in international business with a minor in communication studies, he earned one starts in 13 appearances in 2015. He had one goal and one assist. His goal was the game winner in a 2-0 victory over UMKC.
Petermann, a senior keeper out of Berlin, Germany posted a 4.00 GPA. Majoring in public relations with a minor communication studies, he started in seven of the nine matches in which he appeared in 2015. He posted a 1.15 goals against average, third highest in the WAC, a save percentage of .730, seventh best in the league and his two shutouts ranked sixth in the WAC.
Colunga, a junior midfielder from Lindsay, Calif., posted a 3.565 GPA. Majoring in Spanish, he earned starts in all 18 appearances in 2015. Colunga tied for the lead on the team with four assists and ranked second in goals (4), points (12), shots (47) and shots on goal (21).
Knibbs, a junior striker from London, England, posted a 3.236 GPA. Majoring in communication studies, he earned starts in all 19 appearances in 2015. Knibbs led the team in every nearly every offensive category including goals (11), points (23), shots (60) and shots on goal (30), game winners (4) and was 3-for-4 in penalty kicks. Among WAC performers he was third in goals and shots, fourth in points and second in game winners.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must have completed at least one academic year at his institution, have at least a 3.2 cumulative grade point average and have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's contests.
A total of 71 student-athletes from 11 WAC men's soccer schools earned All-Academic honors in 2015.