Collegiate Water Polo Association Institutions Place Eight on Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Division I Women’s All-America Team

Jun 3, 2021

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Three Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) institutions combined to place eight athletes on the 2021 Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Division I Women’s Varsity All-America Team.

The ACWPC All-America teams are selected based on nominations and voting by varsity head coaches.

A total of 62 athletes from 24 institutions garnered a nod on the 2021 edition of the Division I team with the University of Michigan (four), Bucknell University (two) and Saint Francis University (two) accounting for the eight CWPA selections.

Overall, the league garnered one Second Team selection and seven Honorable Mention picks.

2021 CWPA Most Valuable Player Maddie O’Reilly (Sr., Villanova, Pa./Episcopal Academy) garnered her inaugural All-America nod by claiming Second Team status for the league champion Wolverines of Michigan. She is joined on the All-America Team by fellow Wolverines Erin Neustrom (Jr., Moraga, Calif./Campolindo) and Sofie Pontre (Sr., Perth, Western Australia/Santa Maria College) along with goalie Heidi Ritner (Gr., Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar). The recognition marks the second All-America nods for Neustrom, Pontre and Ritner who all previously garnered Honorable Mention recognition following the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season.

2020 Honorable Mention All-America recipients Ally Furano (Sr., Stamford, Conn./The Ursuline School (N.Y.) and Kali Hyham (Sr., Garden Grove, Calif./Huntington Beach) of Bucknell also become two-time All-America honorees after posting Honorable Mention status in 2020, while Taylor Halbauer (So., Edmonton, Alberta/Mother Margaret Mary) and Emese Szucs (Fr., Budapest, Hungary) of Saint Francis both net their inaugural accolades.

Founded in 2005, the mission of the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) is to promote the development and advancement of collegiate water polo. This shall be accomplished by providing its membership with professional education, services, training and a united voice.