SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Preparing for its conference tournament, No. 18 Santa Clara men's water polo had three players honored by the Western Water Polo Association on its all-conference teams. Junior driver Jimmy Moore received second-team honors, junior 2 meter Tucker Carlson was honorable mention and freshman utility James Rude was named to the all-freshman team.

Santa Clara kicks off the WWPA's on Fri., Nov. 16 vs. UC Davis at 10:45 a.m. The Broncos enter the tournament as the fifth seed.

"Jimmy has had a break out season this year," said Santa Clara head coach Keith Wilbur. "He is currently first on the team in assists and second on the team in scoring, and he plays great defense on a consistent basis. As one of a few upperclassmen on a team with mostly freshman and sophomores, Jimmy's leadership has also been extremely valuable to our squad this year."

Moore is second on the Broncos team with 31 goals and leads the team with 20 assists. He has added 18 steals and seven earned ejections. Moore has started every game this season for the Broncos, one of four players to do so.

"Even though Tucker's season has been cut short due to injury a few weeks ago, he still remains the leading scorer on our team," said Wilbur. "He is a dynamic offensive player who can score inside and outside, and he was definitely the player that other teams would key in on defensively. He was instrumental in some big wins during the first half of the season that earned our team the fifth seed at conference championships."

Carlson, the co-WWPA Player of the Week on September 12, leads the team in attempts (120) and goals scored (45) by a wide margin. He has added eight assists and three steals to go along with 18 earned ejections.

"James Rude has started every game this year as a freshman," said Wilbur. "He is a true utility player in that he can play several positions for us at a very high level.  He can guard and set 2M, he drives and counters very well, and he has a strong outside shot. He is in the top-five in every offensive category, yet defense is probably his greatest strength. He has had an outstanding freshman year."

Rude has also started every game for Santa Clara and has scored 19 times. He has 18 assists, 11 steals and 23 earned ejections in his first season of collegiate water polo.

2012 Western Water Polo Association Men's Water Polo Honors
Player of the Year: Josh Stiling – UC San Diego (DR)
Newcomer of the Year: Milutin Mitrovic – LMU (ATT) 

First-Team All-WWPA
Brian Donohoe, UC San Diego (Sr., DR)
John Mikuzis, LMU (Jr., CTR)
Milutin Mitrovic, LMU (Fr., ATT)
Cameron Ravenbach, UC San Diego (So., GK)
Josh Stedman, Air Force (Jr., ATT)
Josh Stiling, UC San Diego (Jr., DR)
Kyle Testman, LMU (Sr., GK)
Matt Vowell, UC Davis (Sr., UTL) 

Second-Team All-WWPA
Brian Baier, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Sr., 2MD)
John Butler, UC San Diego (Sr., DR)
Jason Cox, Pomona-Pitzer (Sr., UTL)
Mike Fish, Air Force (Sr., GK)
Jimmy Moore, Santa Clara (Jr. DR)
Chris Richardson, UC Davis (So., UTL)
Cruz Smithson, Air Force (Sr., UT) 

Honorable Mention All-WWPA
Tucker Carlson, Santa Clara (Jr., UTL)
Brett Carter, Chapman (Jr., UTL)
Clint Freeman, Redlands (Jr., CTR)
Goran Mataic, Whittier (So., CTR-D)
Luke Syka, UC San Diego (Jr., UTL)
Collin Walters, LMU (Sr., ATT) 

WWPA All-Freshman Team
Philip Bates, UC Davis (GK)
Phillip Clayman, Pomona-Pitzer
Chase Cockerill, UC San Diego (DR)
Tanner Cullen, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (DR)
Douglas Marriott, Whittier (UTL)
Milutin Mitrovic, LMU (ATT)
Ben Rogers, Air Force (UTL)
James Rude, Santa Clara (UTL)