ST. LOUIS, Mo. - For the fifth time since 1998 the Bradley Soccer team has placed three players on the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete first team. Seniors Bryan Gaul (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley H.S.), Tommy Fritze (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield H.S.) and Bobby Smith (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart-Griffin H.S.) all were voted to the 11-player squad, as selected by the league's primary men's soccer sports information directors.
The academic honor is the latest in a long line of awards for Gaul this season. Bradley's leading scorer with 11 goals and 26 points, Gaul also was a first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection for his play on the field this season. The MAC Hermann Trophy candidate boasts a 3.21 cumulative grade point average as a communications major, specializing in advertising. He has earned a spot on the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll in four of his first six college semesters for posting a minimum 3.0 semester GPA.
Fritze is a repeat pick for the MVC Scholar-Athlete first team. The senior defender started 60 of the 71 games he played at Bradley, finishing with four goals and two assists in his career. Academically, Fritze boasts a 3.64 cumulative grade point average as a health science major and has earned a spot on the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll in each of his first six semesters.
A finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in men's soccer, Smith is a three-time Valley Scholar-Athlete recipient, collecting honorable mention notice in 2009 and first-team recognition in 2010. Also named a Capital One Academic All-District V selection this season, Smith boasts a 3.93 cumulative grade point average and will graduate in four years in May from Bradley's 5-year Accounting 3:2 program, which grants both a bachelor's degree and master's degree upon its completion. On the field, Smith started 73 of his 78 career games, registering a goal and three assists while primarily playing in a defensive position.
The trio of Bradley honorees helped the Braves to back-to-back NCAA Men's Soccer Championship appearances for the first time in program history with an automatic bid in 2010 and an at-large invitation in 2011. Ranked among the top 25 for much of the 2011 season, the Braves finished 15-6-2 this season after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
