LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The 11th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team had three individuals earn All-Western Water Polo Association honors, it was announced on Monday morning in a vote by the league's 13 coaches. UCSD's
Steven Donohoe earned first-team honors, while
Peter Gresham was selected to the All-Conference second-team.
John Butler was named to the WWPA All-Freshman team. All told 28 student-athletes were honored for their performance in the pool this 2009 season. UCSD opens play against Redlands at the WWPA Championships on Friday afternoon in Orange.
Loyola Marymount goalie Andy Stevens was named the WWPA Player of the Year for the second consecutive season while Air Force freshman Cruz Smithson was named Newcomer of the Year. Air Force head coach Jeff Ehrlich was named Coach of the Year.
In addition to the Player of the Year honor for Stevens, he also earned first-team All-WWPA honors for the second consecutive year. Joining him on the first team is teammate and junior Ikaika (Andrew) Aki, Air Force senior Alex Churnside, UC San Diego senior Steven Donohoe, Redlands senior Ryan Floersch, UC Davis junior Carlos Martinez and Santa Clara senior Jack Wall.
Second-team All-WWPA honors went to LMU sophomore Edgaras Asajavicius, LMU junior Tibor Forai, UC San Diego senior Peter Gresham, Pomona-Pitzer junior Ben Hadley, Air Force senior Jack Hines, UC Davis junior Cory Lyle, Chapman senior Alex Mule, Santa Clara junior Nick Poggetti and Whittier senior Casey Regher. Earning honorable mention honors was Claremont's sophomore Brian Chong, Whittier junior Rilesh Desai, Santa Clara senior Liam Farrell, Cal Lutheran senior Matt Heagy and Air Force senior David Ostrom.
Finally, earning WWPA All-Freshman team honors was Smithson of Air Force, Colin Hicks of UC Davis, John Butler of UC San Diego, Taylor Roszokos of Chapman, Mark Hudall of Pomona-Pitzer, Brian Baier of Claremont and Patrick Weiss of Santa Clara.
2009 Western Water Polo Association Men's Water Polo Honors
Player of the Year: Andy Stevens (RS Jr.) - GK - Loyola Marymount
Newcomer of the Year: Cruz Smithson (Fr.) - Utl. - Air Force
Coach of the Year: Jeff Ehrlich - Air Force
First-Team All-WWPA
Ikaika (Andrew) Aki (Jr., Utl) - LMU
Alex Churnside (Sr., Utl) - Air Force
Steven Donohoe (Sr., Utl) - UC San Diego
Ryan Floersch (Sr., Ctr) - Redlands
Carlos Martinez (Jr., Utl) - UC Davis
Andy Stevens (Jr., GK) - LMU
Jack Wall (Sr., Dr.) - Santa Clara
Second-Team All-WWPA
Edgaras Asajavicius (So., Dr.) - LMU
Tibor Forai (Jr., Utl) - LMU
Peter Gresham (Sr., 2MD) - UC San Diego
Ben Hadley (Jr., Utl) - Pomona-Pitzer
Jack Hines (Sr., 2MD) - Air Force
Cory Lyle (Jr., Att) - UC Davis
Alex Mule (Sr., Utl) - Chapman
Nick Poggetti (Jr., 2M) - Santa Clara
Casey Regher (Sr., GK) - Whittier
Honorable Mention All-WWPA
Brian Chong (So., Utl) - Claremont
Rilesh Desai (Jr., Att) - Whittier
Liam Farrell (Sr., Utl) - Santa Clara
Matt Heagy (Sr., 2MO) - Cal Lutheran
David Ostrom (Sr., GK) - Air Force
WWPA All-Freshman Team
Cruz Smithson (Utl) - Air Force
Colin Hicks (Att) - UC Davis
John Butler (Dr) - UC San Diego
Taylor Roszkos (GK) - Chapman
Mark Hudall (Dr) - Pomona-Pitzer
Brian Baier (Utl) - Claremont
Patrick Weiss (2MD) - Santa Clara
