April 22, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Three members of the Santa Clara women's water polo team earned All-WWPA conference honors, it was announced Wednesday. Laura Espinosa, Amy Lamb and Claire Linney were recognized by the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) for their outstanding performances in the pool throughout the 2009 season.
Leading the way for the Broncos is senior captain Amy Lamb, who was named to the All-WWPA First Team, for first time in her career. This is her second career conference accolade. In 2008, she was named an honorable mention selection. This season the Long Beach, Calif. native led the SCU offense with 47 goals, for 15th best in the conference.
Fellow senior captain Claire Linney earned her first career conference honor this season. Linney was named to the All-WWPA Second Team after a standout season at 2-meter. The Santa Cruz, Calif. native was also the lone Bronco this year to be named WWPA Player of the Week.
Rounding out the Santa Clara honorees is freshman Laura Espinosa, who was named to the WWPA All-Freshman Team. The Mountain View, Calif. native made an immediate impact in the SCU lineup and saw action in every contest this season.
Behind their three conference selections, Santa Clara looks forward to the WWPA Conference Championship this weekend and playing for a NCAA Championship bid. The conference tournament will run from Friday, April 24 to Sunday, April 26, and the first time in SCU water polo history, it will be hosted at Santa Clara. The Broncos' will play host to the 11-team tournament at the new Sullivan Aquatic Center. To follow all the action from this weekend log onto the official tournament central page: http://www.santaclarabroncos.com/sports/w-wpolo/spec-rel/09-sacl-wwpolo-championships.html.
2009 Western Water Polo Association Women's Water Polo Honors
First-Team WWPA All-Conference
Veronica Campbell (Sr., GK) - Cal State Bakersfield
Sydney Gstettenbauer (Sr., Dr.) - UC San Diego
Nicole Hughes (Sr., Utl.) - LMU
Amy Lamb (Sr., Utl.) - Santa Clara
Samantha Mullins (Sr., Att.) - Sonoma State
Amanda Ortiz (Sr., 2M) - Cal State Bakersfield
Anne Scott (Jr., Dr.) - LMU
Second-Team WWPA All-Conference
Stephanie Heinrich (Jr., Utl.) - UC San Diego
Claire Linney (Sr., 2M) - Santa Clara
Lysa Lombard (Sr., GK)- Sonoma State
Alyson Moss (Sr., 2M) - Cal State Bakersfield
Alison Pavlik (So., Att.) - Colorado State
Diana Romero (So., 2MD) - LMU
Laurel Stricklin (Jr., Att.) - Sonoma State
Honorable Mention WWPA All-Conference
Bryanna Burns (So., GK) - Cal State San Bernardino
Jenna Casady (Jr., Utl.)- Cal State East Bay
Sabrina Cook (Sr., 2M) - Chapman
Kaitlin Hartman (Jr., Utl.) - Cal State San Bernardino
Krystyna McCright (Jr., GK) - Colorado State
Nikki Smart (So., Att.) - Cal State Monterey Bay
Heather Stewart (Jr., AA) - UC Santa Cruz
WWPA All-Freshman Team
Kimberly Benedetti (2MD) - LMU
Kallie Berry (Att./Def.) - Colorado State
Laura Espinosa (2M) - Santa Clara
Casey Flacks (Dr.) - LMU
Shannon McKenzie (Utl.) - Cal State Bakersfield
Elise Pounce (GK) - LMU
Jessica Tran (Dr.) - UC San Diego
Player of the Year:
Nicole Hughes (Sr., Utl.), LMU
Newcomer of the Year:
Anne Scott (Jr., Dr.), LMU
Coach of the Year:
Jason Gall, Cal State Bakersfield
