Date: Thursday, December 5, 2002
Written by Michael Douglas

ZUPANCIC NAMED TO NEW ENGLAND DIVISION II-III ALL-STAR TEAM

MEDFORD – On the heels of a record-setting football season, Tufts University senior cornerback Evan Zupancic (Lake Oswego, OR) has been named to the 2002 New England Football Writers' Division II/III All-Star Team. He will be recognized for this prestigious honor at the New England Football Writers' annual banquet tonight at Lantana Restaurant in Randolph.

Zupancic intercepted a team-high seven passes this year to bring his career total to 20, smashing the school's 20-year old record of 15 by Scott Burnham from 1979-82. A tri-captain of the 2002 squad, Zupancic tied Jeremy Carroll of Amherst College for the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) interceptions crown this past season. He also led the Jumbos with 12 passes defended, and was fifth on the squad with 37 tackles (28 solo). He is sixth in Passes Defended per game (2.4) and tied for seventh in Interceptions per game (0.9) in the latest NCAA national statistics.

Zupancic also played for the offense at wide receiver, catching four balls for 51 yards (12.8 per catch). He returned a few punts and kickoffs, as well. In the spring, he is the starting centerfielder for the baseball team and broke that program's single-season mark with 11 home runs last year. He has won the university's Rudolph J. Fobert Award as the best multi-sport athlete in each of the last two years.

"I think he's going to go down as one of the greatest two-sport athletes in Tufts history," Football Head Coach Bill Samko told the Boston Herald after Zupancic clinched the school's career interceptions record in October. "He's a winner. It's not by accident."

Zupancic led the football squad to a dominant start to the season. The Jumbos shut out their first two opponents and started 3-0 overall. He had a pair of picks in the opening 20-0 win over Hamilton to tie Burnham in the record book. He had two more interceptions during a 44-13 win at Bowdoin to get the record. His third two-interception game of the year came in a 9-0 loss to Colby.

The three opening wins were followed by three agonizingly close losses, then the Jumbos struggled down the stretch to end the year at 3-5. Despite their record, Zupancic and the Tufts defense allowed only 16 points per game on the season and intercepted 22 passes as a unit. They were ranked eighth nationally for their Pass Efficiency Defense.

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