Three UC Santa Barbara men’s volleyball players – Andy McGuire, Jake Rosener, and Matt Thobe – earned 2009 Academic All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) honors for their diligence off the court as well as on it. The announcement was made Friday by the league office.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must carry at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average, must have competed in at least 50% of the team’s matches, and must be at least a sophomore academically.
McGuire, a sophomore from Manhattan Beach, holds a 3.34 GPA while majoring in communication. He was UCSB’s primary libero this past season. McGuire led the squad with 219 total digs and posted a .964 reception percentage.
A junior from Cupertino, Rosener played opposite hitter in 26 of 27 matches and started 25 of those. He was second on the team in kills and service aces. Rosener has a 3.21 GPA as a biology major.
One of just two seniors on the 2009 roster, Thobe hails from Westchester. The middle blocker has a 3.48 GPA in environmental studies and won UCSB’s Golden Eagle Award for highest GPA on the team (for the second straight year). Thobe had the best season of his career, setting most of his career-highs in 2009.
McGuire and Rosener were Academic All-MPSF honorees in 2008 as well.
Stanford led all MPSF teams with seven selections. BYU and Cal State Northridge each placed five on the team, while Pacific and UC San Diego had four. Pepperdine, UC Irvine, UCSB, and USC all had three representatives; Long Beach State and UCLA had two, and Hawai’i had one player named to the academic squad.
