Collegiate Water Polo Association Releases 2018 Women’s Division I All-Conference Team; Hartwick College’s Zsofia Polak Named Most Valuable Player

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) announces the 2018 Division I All-Conference Team based on nominations and balloting of the head coaches from Brown University, Bucknell University, George Washington University, Hartwick College, Harvard University, Indiana University, Princeton University, Saint Francis University and the University of Michigan.

One half of the All-Conference team receives its inaugural nod as seven of the 14 honored athletes are first time recipients of the award.

CWPA Division I regular season champion Princeton earns the most All-Conference awards with four.  Indiana (three), Hartwick (two), Michigan (two), Bucknell (one), George Washington (one) and Harvard (one) were also recognized with at least one athlete on the squad.

Leading the First Team is 2018 CWPA Division I Player of the Year Zsofia Polak (Sr., Dunaujvaros, Hungary/Rudas) of Hartwick who garners the Hawks 13th MVP award following in the line of Megan Thomason (2001 Northern Division, 2012 Northern Division), Sherri Johnson (2003 Northern Division), Ashleigh Jacobs (2014 Northern Division, North Region), Kate Chambers (2005 Northern Division), Bronwen Knox (2006 Northern Division), Kirsten Hudson (2007 Northern Division, 2008 Northern Division, 2010 Northern Division), Charlotte Mensink (2011 Northern Division) and Sami Capparelli (2012 Northern Division). A 2017 and 2016 First Team and 2015 Second Team selection, Polak concludes her time in Oneonta, N.Y. with four All-Conference nods

She is joined on the First Team by teammate Lena Kotanchyan (So., Moscow, Russia/Elk Island School #368) as the 2017 First Team selection and 2017 CWPA Division I Rookie of the Year garners her second All-Conference award.

Indiana places two athletes on the First Team with 2014 Western Division First Team goalie Jessica Gaudreault (Sr., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada/St. Joseph) bookending her career with another honor, while Sarah Myers (Sr., Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Humberside) garners her first award.

Defending 2016 and 2017 CWPA Division I Champion Michigan racks up two First Team honorees with Julia Sellers (Jr., Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) and 2017 First Team recipient Maddy Steere (So., Pascoe Vale, Australia/St. Catherine’s School) leading the charge by the Wolverines.

The final spot on the seven-woman First Team belongs to Haley Wan (Sr., Irvine, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) of Princeton who earns her third All-Conference award following earlier First (2017) and Second (2016) Team nods.

A trio of Princeton student-athletes lead the Second Team as Chelsea Johnson (Sr., Miami, Fla./Ransom Everglades), Lindsey Kelleher (Jr., South Pasadena, Calif./Polytechnic) and goalie/2018 CWPA Rookie of the Year Marissa Webb (Fr., Danville, Calif./San Ramon) notch their inaugural awards.

Webb becomes the fourth Tigers’ player to earn Rookie of the Year notice since 2003 as Megan Donahue (2003), Lauren Brunner (2008 Southern Division) and Olympian Ashleigh Johnson (2013) previously earned notice as the league’s best first-year athlete.

Marta Considine (Sr., Wilmette, Ill./Loyola Academy) of Bucknell and Alana Ponce (Fr., Gig Harbor, Wash./Gig Harbor) of George Washington join the Princeton trio of earning their first All-Conference laurels.

The final two spots on the All-Conference Second Team belong to past recipients as 2016 Second Team selection Kristen Hong (Jr., Orinda, Calif./Miramonte) of Harvard and now four-time honoree (2018 Second Team, 2017 First Team, 2016 First Team, 2015 Second Team) and 2015 Rookie of the Year Kelly Matthews (Sr., Roxboro, Quebec, Canada/College Charlemagne) of Indiana add to their legacies.

The final individual award presented by the league coaches belongs to Princeton interim head coach Becca Dorst who claims notice as the 2018 Coach of the Year.  Dorst, who took over the Tigers’ program following the departure of head coach Luis Nicolao to assume duties as head coach at the United States Naval Academy, is currently in her third season at Princeton.  Her selection marks the sixth time a Princeton women’s water polo head coach has won a COY award from his/her peers in the modern era of the sport (2001 and later) as Nicolao received 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2013 Southern Division accolades.  Further, she is the first woman to win a Division I Women’s Coach of the Year award in the CWPA and becomes the youngest (25 years old) to be recognized with either a men’s or women’s varsity head coaching award in the history of the league.  It is believed she is the youngest head coach ever honored with a Division I women’s water polo Coach of the Year award in the history of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).