WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Nov. 10
ANDY STEVENS
LMU
LMU took big strides toward solidifying a top seed with road wins against previously WWPA-unbeaten UC Davis and Santa Clara. The Lions defense, led by this week’s WWPA Men’s Player of the Week, senior Andy Stevens, allowed just six goals and posted four shutout quarters in earning a 6-1 win over No. 13 UC Davis and an 11-5 win over No. 11 Santa Clara. Stevens averaged just under 10 saves a game as the Lions played three consecutive games on the road against the nationally ranked, No. 1 Cal on Thursday (L, 11-2), followed by the Aggies on Friday and the Broncos on Saturday. He finished the weekend with 29 saves in nine quarters, adding four steals and an assist.
WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Nov. 3
BRENDAN MEANEY
Redlands
As for Redlands, they have won six straight games, currently the longest stretch in the WWPA. A big reason for that is senior center Brendan Meaney (Palm Desert, CA) led the Bulldogs to a 3-0 week, which included important SCIAC wins over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges and Whittier College. He posted 10 goals, including four against Chapman University, to go along with two assists, four steals, four ejections drawn and five field blocks. The effort earned Meaney the Western Water Polo Association Men’s Player of the Week honor for Nov. 3.
WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Oct. 27
MICHAEL WISHART
Santa Clara
Goalies seemed to once again rule the waters in the WWPA, including the Broncos Michael Wishart, who has been named the Western Water Polo Association Player of the Week for Oct. 27. He finished the four games with 49 saves, six assists, and two steals. His weekend included a 16-save game in the 9-8 win over #15 Cal Baptist. He added 14 saves, three assists, and a steal in win over #20T Bucknell. He added an eight-save performance in the win over Brown, and an 11-save effort against WWPA foe Air Force.
WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Oct. 20
GREG BENZ
Occidental
Occidental College senior Greg Benz had two five goal games and led the team in goals, steals, and assists in five games to earn the Western Water Polo Association Men’s Player of the Week on Oct. 20. For the week, Benz tallied 16 goals in five games, while dishing out 15 assists, and collecting 19 steals. He posted two scores and a team high three steals and four assists in the Tigers 18-17 win over Vanguard University last Wednesday. On Friday, Benz once again led the team with four steals and four assists, while scoring three-times in Oxy’s 13-11 loss against Mercyhurst. Against conference rival Whittier College on Saturday, Benz lead the Tigers to an upset victory, scoring a career high five goals including the game winner in the closing seconds to give the Tigers a 12-11 win. Sunday at the Concordia Tournament Benz tallied one goal, while dishing out three more assists in a 13-7 loss to the Eagles, and he concluded the week with another five goal effort in Occidental’s 11-9 win over Fresno Pacific.
WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Oct. 13
CHASE PARLEE
Chapman
Over the weekend, Chapman went 3-1 at the Claremont Convergence Tournament with wins over George Washington, Fresno Pacific and Iona. Chase Parlee, a senior transfer from Huntington Beach, had a great deal to do with the success as he tallied 14 goals in four games along with nine steals and two assists to be named the WWPA Men’s Player of the Week for Oct. 13. In the Panthers’ 11-8 win over Fresno Pacific University on Saturday, Parlee had five goals and two steals. He had three goals in each of Chapman’s other three games.
WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Oct. 6
DAVID MORTON
UC San Diego
With all the big performances in goal, its no surprise that a goalie takes home the fifth Western Water Polo Association Player of the Week honor. The honor for Oct. 6 goes to UC San Diego’s David Morton, who helped UCSD capture ninth place at the SoCal Tournament, as the Tritons went 3-1 on the weekend. In addition, he was named by NCAA.com as the Player of the Week nationally. The Tritons started the two-day competition with a loss to Stanford but rebounded to finish with three-straight wins. On Saturday afternoon against Concordia Irvine, Morton set a new school record for saves in a single game with 21. It topped his previous career of 19, which he tallied last season against the same CUI program. UCSD collected dramatic one-goal victories Sunday over 9th-ranked Pepperdine and 10th-ranked Loyola Marymount. Morton was outstanding down the stretch, helping the Tritons hold the Wave sand Lions to just one fourth-quarter goal between the two matches. Across the tournament’s four games, he totaled 45 saves.
WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Sept. 29
RILESH DESAI
Whitter
For the second straight week, Whittier takes top honors on the week. Rilesh Desai helped the Whittier Poets to a 3-1 weekend and the big win to earn the Western Water Polo Association Player of the Week for Sept. 29. Whittier’s first game of the Lancer Invite proved to be a big one, as they upset #12 Concordia University in overtime 12-11. The next two games Whittier swept WWPA conference rivals La Verne 12-5, and Occidental 8-6. In the win against Concordia, the program’s highest win in school history, Rilesh had six goals, an assist, and four drawn ejections. On the weekend he totaled 11 goals, six assists, six drawn ejections, and a steal.
WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Sept. 22
ERICK GONZALEZ
Whitter
Freshman attacker Erick Gonzalez helped Whittier to erase a 7-2 halftime deficit to defeat Chapman University in conference to earn the Western Water Polo Association Player of the Week for Sept. 22. Gonzalez led the Poets with seven goals, adding a pair of drawn ejections, a steal and a two assists. Gonzalez played a huge role on the defensive end as well, as the Poets allowed just two second half goals while scoring 10 to earn a key WWPA road win last Saturday.
WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Sept. 15
AARON SALIT
UC Davis
UC Davis came out the week and the Inland Empire Tournament the big winner, earning victories in all six games they played thanks in large part to junior Aaron Salit, who has been named this week’s Western Water Polo Association Player of the Week for Sept. 15. Salit scored a total of 18 goals in six wins over the weekend, including four against host Redlands, a career-high six in the win over Whittier and three in the Occidental win on Day 1 of the Inland Empire Classic tournament. Redlands, which lost to the Aggies by a 13-7 final, is among the teams receiving votes for the Sept. 8 national coaches’ poll.
WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Sept. 8
IKAIKA AKI
Loyola Marymount
Senior Ikaika Aki has been named the Western Water Polo Association Player of the Week for Sept. 9 after leading Loyola Marymount to a 3-1 start to the 2010 season with wins over WWPA foes #19 Air Force, #11 UC San Diego and La Verne. Aki had eight of the Lions’ 21 assists over the weekend, adding seven field blocks, five steals and three goals. He had an assist in every game and add three field blocks against both UCSD and Air Force. He now has a school-record 93 field blocks in his career and is seventh with 119 steals and 72 assists.
