BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Winter 2021 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion Bucknell University earned three First Team selections and four overall nods – including the Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year awards – on the MAWPC-East All-Conference Team as selected by the league’s six head coaches.
A total of 15 athletes are recognized with All-Conference honors as a tie occurred among the field players on the Second Team.
Leading the All-Conference selections is Winter 2021 Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year selection Doruk Ozar (Fr., Istanbul, Turkey/Private Sezin) of Bucknell University who garners First Team honors to accompany his pair of individual honors. The Rookie of the Tournament at the Winter 2021 MAWPC Championship hosted by Bucknell on Sunday, March 7, at Kinney Natatorium in Lewisburg, Pa., Ozer continues a legacy of success for the Bison.
Since the division of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) into the MAWPC and Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) prior to the 2016 season, a Bucknell athlete has won the MVP award each year as Rade Joksimovic ’20 garnered the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 awards. In addition, Ozar becomes the second player to earn both the MVP and Rookie of the Year plaques in the same year joining Joksimovic who completed the feat in 2016.
Further, Ozar becomes the fifth Bison athlete to earn Rookie of the Year status since the creation of the award in 2007 by equaling teammate Andu Vlasceanu (So., Bucharest, Romania/Liceul Teoretic “Nicolae Lorga” Bucuresti) (20109 MAWPC), Joksimovic (2016 MAWPC), Grant Curry (2014 CWPA-South Region) and Richie Hyden (2007 CWPA-South Region).
Ozar is joined on the First Team by Vlasceanu who earns his second All-Conference nod after picking up Second Team status in 2019. Goalie Adrien Touzot (So., Beirut, Lebanon/Brummana) completes the Bucknell trio on the First Team by garnering his inaugural All-Conference nod.
The United States Naval Academy, La Salle University, George Washington University and Fordham University complete the seven-member First Team as the Midshipmen, Explorers, Colonials and Rams each claimed one First Team recipient.
Isaac Salinas (Jr., Spring City, Pa./Malvern Prep) of Navy records his third All-Conference award as he previously claimed Second (2018) and First (2019) Team status to accompany the 2018 Rookie of the Year plaque. Daniel Domotor (Sr., Budapest, Hungary/Karinthy Frigyes Secondary) of La Salle and Andras Levai (Sr., Budapest, Hungary/Csik Ferenc Secondary School) of George Washington post their second All-Conference laurels following Second Team recognition in 2019, while Fordham’s Hans Zdolsek (Gr., Linkoping, Sweden/Katedralskolan (Whittier College)) nets his first All-Conference recognition.
The Second Team is highlighted by seven first-time All-Conference recipients as the lone repeat is 2018 First Team honoree Bobby Lee (Sr., Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) of Navy.
Winter 2021 MAWPC Championship runner-up La Salle takes up three places on the Second Team as Cole Strohson (Sr., Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) and Callin Chimilar (So., Regina, Sask./Martin Collegiate) are joined by goalie Veljko Kotarica (Fr., Zrenjanin, Serbia/Electro Technical “Nikola Tesla”).
Jake Altmayer (So., Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) accompanies Lee as Navy places a pair of athletes on the Second Team, while Bucknell’s Josh Yardley (Jr., Sellersville, Pa./Pennridge), George Washington’s Viktor Jovanovic (Fr., Calgary, Canada/E.P. Scarlett) and Fordham’s Curtis Vidinoff (So., Clovis, Calif./Clovis North) complete the squad.
The Coach of the Year award is presented to La Salle’s Tom Hyham who guided the Explorers to the MAWPC Championship game. It marks the first Coach of the Year award for La Salle in the sport of water polo as former George Washington coach Adam Foley (2016), Bill Harris of Fordham (2017), Luis Nicolao of Navy (2018) and the duo of Harris and Brian Bacharach of Fordham (2019) previously earned the league’s highest honor for coaching leadership.
Loading...
Reload document 
Open in new tab 