FULLERTON, Calif. -- Cal State Fullerton senior Jesse Escalante and sophomore Ian Ramos were named to the first team while senior Gerzon Blanco was an honorable mention selection as the Big West Conference released its postseason honor roll as selected by the coaches on Monday afternoon.
It is the first time that any of the three have been honored by the Big West Conference in their collegiate careers.
"It is a great honor for our players and the program. Anytime you place players on an all-conference list it means that others have taken notice of their hard work," Ammann said. "Placing two players on the first team is always a great accomplishment and the fact that neither of them were selected as preseason all-conference selections is an indicator of how well they performed during the season."
Escalante finished the regular season as the Titans' leading goal-scorer, finishing with eight scores and two assists for 18 points. He ranks among the league's top 10 in points (t5th), points per game (3rd), and goals (t3rd) and has the most goals for a Fullerton striker since Nick Posthuma scored nine times in 2010.
With points in four of his last five matches, Ramos was also named to the first team after scoring six times and assisting on six others to tie for fifth in the league in that category. He has scored 11 of his 18 points over the team's last five matches and ranks among the league's best in six different offensive categories.
Blanco has burst onto the scene late in the 2012 season, scoring eight of his career-high 11 points this season in the last five matches as the Titans made a push for the playoffs. In that span, he has scored three times (including two game-winners) and helped on two more to help Fullerton to a 4-1 mark over its last five games.
The Titans open Big West Conference Tournament play on Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 7) at 2 p.m. as Fullerton heads to UC Davis to take on the North Division champion Aggies in the first semifinal of the tournament. Cal State Northridge and Cal Poly face off in the second semifinal with the winners of the two matches meeting for the championship on Saturday (Nov. 10) at 1 p.m. at the home of the higher seed and televised on Fox Sports PrimeTicket.
NOTES: It is the second time in the last three seasons (and only the second time since 2006) that the Titans have had a pair on the first team following Nick Posthuma and Kevin Venegas' selections in 2010… Escalante and Ramos are only the 25th and 26th Titans selected to the first team since 1985… This season marks the third consecutive year that Fullerton has had at least one player selected to the All-Big West First Team.