April 3, 2002
NORRISTOWN, Pa. - Santa Clara University men's water polo team members Jay Moorhead and Dan Figoni were named Academic All-Americans by the American Water Polo Coaches Association, the organization announced last week.
The honor was the third straight for Moorhead, a senior two-meter player from Laguna Nigel. Figoni, a junior defender from San Francisco, is a first-time honoree. The duo led Santa Clara to a seventh-place finish in the conference standings, after facing a demanding schedule, finished 10-14 despite 14 of its 24 matches were played against ranked opposition.
Additionally, as a team, the Broncos finished the season with a 3.13 team GPA, placing Santa Clara fourth nationally.
Moorhead, who is on pace to graduate this spring with a 3.40 GPA in marketing, earned second team All-WWPA honors last season, starting all but two matches and finishing with 58 goals and 29 steals. He finished his career with 179 goals, the second best goal total in SCU history. During the 2001 season, Highlights from Moorhead's season include a five-goal game to lead SCU to a 9-7 victory over UC Santa Cruz. He also scored the match-winning goal with just 25 seconds left in regulation to lift the Broncos to a 4-3 victory over Redlands to close out play at the Triton Invitational. On November 3, Moorhead did not start against UC Davis for the first time last season while nursing a hip injury, but convinced head coach Steve Hanson into playing him in the second half. Moorhead went on to tie the game in the fourth quarter and recorded the game-winner with 42 seconds left in the 8-7 win.
"You can't say enough about Jay," Hanson said. "He's got great work ethic. He faced double teams all season and was willing to mix up his game to help the team out. He's deservedly made his way into Santa Clara's recordbooks and we wish him all the best in his next adventure."
Figoni currently carries a 3.21 GPA in the Operation Management and Information Systems department. He started every contest this season, scoring 35 goals and adding 12 assists. He also nabbed 26 steals, the third best total on the team. Figoni took center stage for the Broncos with his five-goal performance in a 13-12 victory over UC Santa Cruz on November 4.
"Dan is one of the strongest kids on the team," Hanson said. "He has a cannon attached to his arm. He's also progressed phenomenally since his arrival three years ago and it is because of his tremendous work ethic. I'm happy to seem him honored for the same work ethic in the classroom."
A complete list of honorees can be found at CollegiateWaterPolo.org.
