BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Kelly Matthews (Jr., Roxboro, Quebec/St. Thomas) of No. 11-ranked Indiana University put away five shots in an upset of then No. 5-ranked the University of Hawaii at the University of California-Santa Barbara Winter Invitational to record honors as the January 23 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division I Player of the Week.
A 2016 Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-America Honorable Mention selection, she accounted for over 60 percent (62.5%) of the Hoosiers’ offense against now No. 8 Hawaii by ripping in a quintet of markers in an 8-5 victory on Sunday, January 22.
The victory marked Indiana’s first against a Top 10 team since upending then No. 10 Princeton University by a 13-12 count in sudden death overtime in Princeton on April 10, 2015.
The goals marked Matthews’ only tallies of the tournament as she was held scoreless against No. 23 California State University-Bakersfield (13-6 W) and host/No. 8 UC-Santa Barbara (8-4 L) on Friday, January 20, prior to being kept off the board versus No. 22 California State University-Northridge (6-4 W) and No. 3 the University of California-Los Angeles (20-5 L) on Saturday, January 21.
In addition to her scoring prowess against Hawaii, she added two steals and six drawn ejections during the span of the weekend.
The 2015 CWPA Rookie of the Year, the weekly honor marks the fifth of Matthews’ three-year career as she previously dominated the Rookie of the Week awards by taking home nods on April 6, 13, 20, 27 in 2015 during her inaugural collegiate season.
January 23 CWPA Division I Player of the Week Honor Roll: Maddy Steere (University of Michigan)
