BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Maddy Steere (Sr., Pascoe Vale, Australia/St. Catherine’s School) of the University of Michigan, Ted Minnis of Harvard University and Princeton University’s Jovana Sekulic (Fr., Belgrade, Serbia/The Episcopal Academy (Pa.)) garner accolades as the Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively, to headline the 2022 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division I All-Conference Team.
Selected based on nominations and votes by the head coaches of the league’s Division I institutions (Brown University, Bucknell University, Harvard, Princeton, Michigan, Mount St. Mary’s University, Saint Francis University), the All-Conference Team honors the 16 best players (14 field players, two goalies) in the majority opinion of the coaches.
The 2019 and 2022 league Most Valuable Player, Steere’s selection continues a string of success as the four-time All-Conference First Team selection (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022) is among nine Wolverines’ student-athlete to claim league MVP accolades by joining Madison O’Reilly (Gr., Villanova, Pa./The Episcopal Academy) (2021-CWPA Division I), Allison Skaggs (2017 – CWPA Division I), Ali Thomason (2016 – CWPA Division I), Kiki Golden (2012 – CWPA Western Division), Leah Robertson (2010 – CWPA Western Division), Julie Hyrne (2009 – CWPA Western Division; 2008 – CWPA Western Division), Shana Welch (2007 – CWPA Western Division; 2006 – CWPA Western Division; 2005 – CWPA Western Division) and Olympian Betsey Armstrong (2004 – CWPA Western Division; 2003 – CWPA Southern Division) dating back to the start of women’s NCAA competition in 2001. Overall, Michigan has claimed 14 league/division MVP accolades since the 2001 season. An All-Conference team was not selected in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely terminating the season.
Minnis – who led Harvard to a runner-up finish during the regular season and at the CWPA Championship hosted by Bucknell University on April 22-24, earns his second women’s Coach of the Year nod after taking the 2015 honor.
Sekulic’s selection follows in the line of previous Rookie of the Year recipients Megan Donahue (2003 – Princeton), Shana Welch (2004 – Michigan), Bronwen Knox (2005 – Hartwick College), Aubrey Rowe (Bucknell – 2006), Kirsten Hudson (Hartwick – 2007), Jessica McKee (Hartwick – 2008), Devan Kennifer (Harvard – 2009), Lily Martinez (Hartwick – 2010), Kate Woods (Brown – 2011), Taylor Barnett (Bucknell – 2012), Ashleigh Johnson (Princeton – 2013), Melissa Balding (Harvard – 2014), Kelly Matthews (Indiana University – 2015), Kim Johnson (Michigan – 2016), Lena Kotanchyan (Hartwick – 2017), Marissa Webb (Princeton – 2018), Abby Andrews (Michigan – 2019) and Emese Szucs (Saint Francis – 2021) as she becomes the fourth Tiger to collect recognition as the best first-year athlete.
On the All-Conference team, Michigan (four) and Harvard (four) tied for the lead with four selections, while Princeton (three), Brown (one), Bucknell (one) and Saint Francis earned selections in accounting for the 16 honored players.
Steere is joined on the All-Conference First Team by fellow Wolverines’ field player O’Reilly – who claims her second consecutive First Team nod after being named the league’s MVP in 2021 – and two-time First Team honoree (2021, 2022) Paige Furano (Sr., Stamford, Conn./The Ursuline School (N.Y.)) of Bucknell.
A quartet of first-time All-Conference selections complete the First Team as Sekulic, Zoe King (Jr., Almaden, Calif./Leland) of Brown along with Inde Halligan (Sr., Sydney, Australia/Meriden School) and goalie Zoe Banks (Jr., Palo Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) of Harvard round out the seven-member squad.
The Second Team is comprised of pairs of selections from Michigan, Harvard and Princeton along with a nod to Saint Francis.
2021 First Team pick Erin Neustrom (Sr., Moraga, Calif./Campolindo) of Michigan, 2019 Second Team honoree Grace Thawley (Jr., Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei) of Harvard and 2021 Second Team recipient Taylor Halbauer (Jr., Edmonton, Alberta/Mother Margaret Mary) of Saint Francis earn repeat selections.
Goalie Alex Brown (Jr., Clayton, Calif./Carondelet) of Michigan, Evan Tingler (Jr., Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach) of Harvard, Laura Larkin (Jr., Solana Beach, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) and Kayla Yelensky (Fr., Stamford, Conn./Greenwich Academy) receive their inaugural All-Conference laurels.
| 2022 Collegiate Water Polo Association Division I All-Conference Team | |
| Most Valuable Player: | Maddy Steere University of Michigan) |
| Rookie of the Year: | Jovana Sekulic (Princeton University) |
| Coach of the Year: | Ted Minnis (Harvard University) |
| First Team | |
| Zoe Banks (Goalie) | Harvard University |
| Inde Halligan | Harvard University |
| Maddy Steere | University of Michigan |
| Maddie O’Reilly | University of Michigan |
| Zoe King | Brown University |
| Paige Furano | Bucknell University |
| Jovana Sekulic | Princeton University |
| Second Team | |
| Alex Brown (Goalie) | University of Michigan |
| Erin Neustrom | University of Michigan |
| Grace Thawley | Harvard University |
| Evan Tingler | Harvard University |
| Laura Larkin | Princeton University |
| Kayla Yelensky | Princeton University |
| Taylor Halbauer | Saint Francis University |
