Nov. 29, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame soccer players Elizabeth Tucker (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) and Harrison Shipp (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) have been named Academic All-Americans in their respective divisions.
Tucker, a junior midfielder on the Notre Dame women’s team, was named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® First Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Shipp, a junior forward on the Fighting Irish men’s squad, was selected to the Capital One Academic All-America® Second Team.
Tucker, a team tri-captain, becomes the 10th different Fighting Irish women’s soccer player to be voted a first-team Academic All-American®, with those 10 combining for a total of 14 selections, including nine in the past 10 seasons.
The Notre Dame women’s soccer program also has fielded a total of 14 different Academic All-Americans® (first through third teams), with those 14 earning a total of 26 selections. The Fighting Irish also lead the nation with 17 women’s soccer Academic All-Americans® since that sport branched off from the at-large Academic All-America® program in 2002.
“Elizabeth is a prime example of everything that it means to be an elite student-athlete,” Notre Dame women’s soccer head coach Randy Waldrum said. “As anyone who has seen her play knows, she has a non-stop motor and has always had a top-level work rate, and she has that same level of dedication and passion in the classroom. It’s this kind of work ethic and focus that has made her a role model and excellent leader for our program, showing our younger players what it means to carry yourself in a first-class manner as a student and an athlete. We couldn’t be prouder of her and what she has meant our program and the University of Notre Dame.”
Tucker appeared in all 24 matches for Notre Dame this season, starting 22 times while registering five goals and three assists, including a two-goal effort in a 2-0 win at Tulsa on Aug. 24. She also ranked third on the team with 1,841 minutes played and was named to the BIG EAST Conference Championship All-Tournament Team after leading the Fighting Irish to the conference semifinals.
Notre Dame finished the 2012 campaign with a 16-6-2 record, advancing to the NCAA Championship quarterfinals for the 15th time in program history. Along the way, the Fighting Irish defeated back-to-back top-10 opponents (No. 10/12 Wake Forest and No. 8/10 Florida) in a three-day span, highlighting a run that saw Notre Dame go unbeaten in 14 of its final 17 matches.
In the classroom, Tucker has maintained a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) as an accounting major in Notre Dame’s top-ranked Mendoza College of Business. She also has been a regular dean’s list honoree, and has taken part in Notre Dame’s landmark Rosenthal Leadership Academy.
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Shipp was a vital part of a Fighting Irish offense that ranked among the nation’s best during the 2012 season. He was second among all Notre Dame players in goals (6), assists (6) and points (18). The goal and point totals were career-best marks, while the assists matched his career-high total. As a team, Notre Dame deposited 52 goals, which currently ranks fourth nationally.
Shipp played in all 22 matches this season and helped lead the Irish to a 17-4-1 record and the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history. The Irish advanced to the tournament’s round of 16 for the sixth time in school history. The 17 wins were the most for the Fighting Irish since 1988.
The Fighting Irish captured the program’s third BIG EAST Championship title with a dramatic 3-2 double-overtime victory against No. 6 Georgetown. Shipp earned third-team all-BIG EAST accolades for the 2012 season. Another milestone for Shipp during the campaign was his first hat trick, which came in a 6-1 win at Seton Hall. That victory started a stretch that saw the Irish go 7-1-1 in their final nine games of the season.
Shipp boasts a 3.846 cumulative GPA as a finance major in the Mendoza College of Business. He is a two-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star and received the 2011-12 Rockne Student-Athlete Award, which goes to the top student on the Fighting Irish squad. He also was named to the dean’s list for the spring 2012 semester.
Shipp is the eighth CoSIDA Academic All-American in the history of the Notre Dame men’s soccer program. Michael Thomas was the last to receive the honor as he was a third-team pick in 2009. Shipp is the first non-senior in program history to be tapped as an Academic All-American.
“I always say Harry is a wizard on the field and he’s also a wizard in the classroom,” Notre Dame men’s soccer head coach Bobby Clark said. “He’s a smart young man and a great young man to have on the team. Harry contributed a lot to the success we had this season. He combined well with Ryan Finley up top. Ryan scored 21 goals this season and many of those were set up by Harry. They formed a deadly duo. It’ll be great to have Harry back for one more season.”
Voting for the Capital One Academic All-America Team® was conducted by members of the CoSIDA Academic All-America Committee. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a 3.30 cumulative GPA (on a 4.00 scale), have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America® honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
For more information about the Academic All-America Teams program, please visit the official CoSIDA web site at cosida.com, and for more on Notre Dame’s Academic All-America® success, please visit the UND.com Academic All-Americans Page.
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