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Nov. 5, 2012

NEW ORLEANS - Two days after setting a school record with a 57-yard field goal, Tulane University football standout Cairo Santos garnered national recognition as the junior from Sao Paulo, Brazil, was named a semifinalist for the 2012 Lou Groza National Collegiate Place-Kicker Award as announced by the Orange Bowl Committee.

Santos, who prepped as an exchange student at St. Joseph's Academy in St. Augustine, Fla., is a perfect 14-for-14 kicking field goals so far during the 2012 season, including a 9-of-9 showing from 40-plus yards and a 2-of-2 performance from 50-plus. In addition, Santos has kicked off 41 times for 2,624 yards (64.0 avg.) with 27 touchbacks to hold opponents to an average starting field position of their own 24-yard line.

The national honor is his second in as many days, as Santos was named National Placekicker of the Week on Sunday by the College Football Performance Awards for his performance against Rice. In the game against the Owls, Santos was true on field goal attempts of 57 and 42 yards, split the uprights on all five of his PATs and kicked off seven times for 454 yards (64.9 avg.) with six touchbacks.

His 57-yard field goal broke the former Tulane record of 54 originally established by Mark Olivari vs. Air Force on Nov. 8, 1975 and later tied by Ed Murray vs. Memphis on Oct. 28, 1978, and Santos himself this year against ULM on Sept. 29. The boot is tied for the third longest in the country this season, and Santos is the only player in the nation to have two field goals of 54 yards or longer.

Santos has played in all nine games so far this season and leads the team with 62 points on the strength of 14 field goals and 20 PATs. He leads Conference USA in field goal percentage (1.000) while sharing the lead in field goals per game (1.56) and sitting eighth in points scored kicking per game (6.9), ninth in PAT percentage (.952) and 11th in overall points per game (6.9). Santos also sits tied for 14th among NCAA Division I players in field goals per game and tied for 98th in points per contest.

He scored a career-high 13 points after hitting field goals of 21 and 32 yards while connecting on all seven PATs against UAB on Oct. 27. In addition to the UAB and Rice games, Santos has four other two field-goal outings: 40- and 32-yarders vs. Rutgers on Sept. 1, 40- and 47-yarders with a PAT at Louisiana-Lafayette on Oct. 6, 46- and 35-yarders with three PATs vs. SMU on Oct. 13 and 46- and 37-yarders with two PATs at UTEP On Oct. 20.

He also added a 49-yard field goal and converted a PAT at Tulsa on Sept. 8. The lone blemish on Santos résumé to date was a blocked PAT in the season-opener against the Scarlett Knights.

For his career, Santos has played in 34 games and scored 199 points after connecting on 38-of-48 field goals (.792) and converting 85-of-86 PATs (.966) while kicking off 114 times for 6,991 yards (61.3 avg.) and punting 15 times for 615 yards (41.0 avg.).

He currently sits atop the Tulane career record book in field goal percentage, fifth in PATs made and PAT attempts, sixth in points scored kicking, field goals made and PAT percentage, and 10th in total points scored.

Santos is one of two C-USA players nominated for the 2012 Groza Award - joining Rice's Chris Boswell - and one of two players from Louisiana schools on the list - joining Brett Baer of Louisiana-Lafayette.

Semifinalists will be voted on by the Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and media relations contacts, along with national and regional football writers and past Groza winners to select three finalists. These finalists will be announced on Nov. 19 and honored at the 21st annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on Dec. 4 in West Palm Beach, Fla. The winner will be announced live on the Home Depot ESPN College Football Awards Show on Dec. 6.

The award is named in honor of one of the all-time great kickers in football history, Lou Groza. Groza played 21 seasons for the Cleveland Browns where she set numerous franchise records, including most games played and points scored. At one point he scored in 107 consecutive games as was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974.

Past Groza finalists include current NFL kickers Sebastian Janikowski, Nate Kaeding, Mike Nugent, Mason Crosby, Garrettt Hartley, Kai Forbath, Blair Walsh, Dan Bailey and Randy Bullock. Former Tulane All-American and Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Seth Marler won the Groza Award in 2001.

Santos and the Green Wave return to action on Saturday, Nov. 10, when they travel to Tennessee to take on C-USA foe Memphis at 6 p.m. in the Liberty Bowl. Tulane's next home game is slated for Saturday, Nov. 17, when the Wave play host to league rival East Carolina. The game against the Pirates is the final home game of the season and the Tulane Senior Class will be honored with a special ceremony prior to kickoff.

Tickets that game as well as future Green Wave events are available through the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office. The Ticket Office is located on the first floor of the Wilson Center on Ben Weiner Drive, and tickets can be purchased in person, over the phone at 504-861-WAVE (9283) or via the Internet at www.TulaneGreenWave.com.

2012 LOU GROZA NATIONAL COLLEGIATE PLACE-KICKER AWARD SEMIFINALISTS

Brett Baer - Louisiana-Lafayette
Ht: 5-11 Wgt: 182 Class: Senior Hometown: Brandon, Miss.

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
13-16   81.3  0-0    3-4    4-4    5-7    1-1    52    31-33     70

Casey Barth - North Carolina
Ht: 5-11 Wgt: 190 Class: Senior Hometown: Wilmington, N.C.

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
15-19   78.9  0-0    5-5    5-7    5-7    0-0    48    40-40     85

Chris Boswell - Rice
Ht: 6-2 Wgt: 210 Class: Junior Hometown: Keller, Texas

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
14-18   77.8  0-0    5-5    4-5    3-5    2-3    57    36-38     78

Jeff Budzien - Northwestern
Ht: 5-11 Wgt: 160 Class: Junior Hometown: Hartland, Wisc.

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
11-12   91.7  2-2    3-3    2-2    4-4    0-1    44    34-34     67

Anthony Contele - Kansas State
Ht: 5-10 Wgt: 183 Class: Senior Hometown: Wichita, Kansas

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
14-16   87.5  2-2    6-7    3-4    3-3    0-0    42    51-51     93

Chandler Catanzaro - Clemson
Ht: 6-2 Wgt: 195 Class: Junior Hometown: Greenville, S.C.

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
12-13   92.3  1-1    7-7    1-1    2-3    1-1    50    43-44     79

Brian Davis - Arkansas State
Ht: 5-11 Wgt: 160 Class: Junior Hometown: Brentwood, Tenn.

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
14-17   82.4  0-0    7-8    4-5    3-4    0-0    47    34-36     76

Trey Farquhar - Idaho
Ht: 6-1 Wgt: 191 Class: Senior Hometown: Redlands, Calif.

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
12-15   80.0  0-0    4-4    3-5    2-2    3-4    55    15-15     51

Brendan Gibbons - Michigan
Ht: 6-1 Wgt: 230 Class: Junior Hometown: West Palm Beach, Fla.

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
13-15   86.7  1-1    5-5    5-5    1-3    1-1    52    30-30     69

Dustin Hopkins - Florida State
Ht: 6-2 Wgt: 190 Class: Senior Hometown: Houston, Texas

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
18-22   81.8  2-2    5-5    5-6    4-7    2-2    56    49-50    103

Michael Hunnicutt - Oklahoma
Ht: 6-0 Wgt: 173 Class: Sophomore Hometown: Richardson, Texas

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
10-11   90.9  0-0    2-2    7-7	   1-2    0-0    42    38-40     68

Austin Lopez - San Jose State
Ht: 6-0 Wgt: 170 Class: Freshman Hometown: Euless, Texas

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
13-13  100.0  1-1    7-7    3-3    2-2    0-0    43    37-38     76

Ross Martin - Duke
Ht: 5-9 Wgt: 185 Class: Freshman Hometown: Solon, Ohio

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
16-18   88.9  0-0    8-9    4-5    4-4    0-0    47    35-35     83

Mike Meyer - Iowa
Ht: 6-2 Wgt: 185 Class: Junior Hometown: Dubuque, Iowa

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
15-18   83.3  1-1    8-8    1-2    4-6    1-1    50    19-19     64

Jaden Oberkrom - TCU
Ht: 6-3 Wgt: 182 Class: Freshman Hometown: Arlington, Texas

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
15-20   75.0  0-0    2-3    6-8    6-6    1-3    50    36-36     81

Cairo Santos - Tulane
Ht: 5-8 Wgt: 160 Class: Junior Hometown: St. Augustine, Fla.

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
14-14  100.0  0-0    1-1    4-4    7-7    2-2    57    20-21     62

Steven Schott - Ball State
Ht: 6-0 Wgt: 172 Class: Senior Hometown: Massillon, Ohio

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
20-24   83.3  1-1    5-5    6-8    6-7    2-3    52    33-34     93

Quinn Sharp - Oklahoma State
Ht: 6-1 Wgt: 205 Class: Senior Hometown: Mansfield, Texas

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
18-23   78.3  0-0    9-9    4-4    4-6    1-4    51    40-40     94

Jeremy Shelley - Alabama
Ht: 5-10 Wgt: 165 Class: Senior Hometown: Raleigh, N.C.

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
 9-9   100.0  0-0    4-4    5-5    0-0    0-0    38    43-43     70

Caleb Sturgis - Florida
Ht: 5-11 Wgt: 184 Class: Senior Hometown: St. Augustine, Fla.

FG-Att  FG%   1-19  20-29  30-39  40-49   50+   Long  PAT-Att  Points
15-18   83.3  0-0    8-9    2-3    2-3    3-3    51    23-24     68

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