Four UCSD women’s water polo seniors were given the ultimate sendoff as the American Water Polo Coaches Association rewarded their efforts by naming them to the 2005 Division II All-American team.
Perfect storm:
Driver Tobi Lyman, who led the Tritons this year with 57 goals, was awarded Division II Player of the Year honors, becoming the third UCSD player to receive the award in the last four years. Utility Courtney Clevenger, two-meter Lindsay Grossman and junior goaltender Kaitlin Foe also received All-American selections. In addition, UCSD head coach Larry Sanders was chosen as Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches.
“As a top Division II team and a top-20 team in the country, this is something I expect because they are great players,” Sanders said. “But it’s a chance to show other teams that, despite being the only nonscholarship team in the top-20, we have some quality athletes. … It’s a great honor.”
One player Sanders felt deserved the honors but didn’t is the team’s other graduating senior, driver and team captain Jessica Wong. According to Sanders, Wong exhibited maturity and control on both sides of the pool, leading the Tritons in assists and blocks this season, with 35 and 13, respectively. While these contributions were critical to UCSD’s 2005 campaign, Sanders lauded Wong for the things she did that people may have missed throughout the course of the contest.
“Jessica did all the little things that don’t show up in the box scores but are just as necessary, like setting up plays by making the right passes, or being able to read the situation and find a way to create set-ups,” Sanders said. “I felt she should have been named an All-American as well.”
Lyman, who earned 57 goals, 20 assists and 34 steals, tied Wong for the most quarters tallied over the season with 138. Lyman capped off her brief career as a Triton, having transferred from UC Irvine last season, by becoming the first UCSD driver in recent years to win Player of the Year honors. The two previous recipients in the last four years — Emma Kudritzki in 2002 and Dana Tucker in 2003 — both played as two-meters.
“I wasn’t expecting it, so that was a cool surprise, “ Lyman said. “It was a big decision for me to transfer, but I’ve had a great time in these last two years.”
Clevenger was another transfer who had a big impact in a short period of time, following Lyman on the goal-scorers’ list this season with 47 tallies, as well as 29 assists and 33 steals. A counterattack specialist as well as a speedster, Clevenger won more than two-thirds of the opening sprints she participated in this season.
“Courtney was our speed factor this season and her movement brought us a lot of activity on offense,” Sanders said.
Grossman provided the muscle in the defensive end of the pool, coming up with 26 take-aways while only being kicked out 10 times in 127 quarters. The enforcer also came alive offensively toward the end of the season, finishing the year with 15 goals and 14 assists.
In her third season between the pipes, Foe led the UCSD defense with 181 saves and a 5.95 goals-against average over a span of 95 periods. As one of the team’s remaining starters, Foe will continue to direct the defense next season.
Despite losing four starters who exemplified speed, poise, grit and leadership, Sanders and the departing seniors do not expect the face of the team to change, for right behind them is a roster filled with juniors who, having spent the last two years as key substitutes, are ready to prove themselves.
“This team has a lot of young players with talent and speed that they’ve been building up for two years,” Wong said. “They’re going to be just fine.”
Along with Foe, driver Flynn LaRochelle is a returning senior with considerable experience, having earned seven goals and 14 assists in 123 quarters this season. A young group of juniors will make up the core on both ends of the pool, with Sarah Bajorek taking over the offensive reins at two-meter, while Britta Nordstrom becomes the new muscle in the back. Both made significant strides in their positions this season, with Bajorek scoring 26 goals and Nordstrom making 31 steals in 134 amd 114 quarters, respectively. Two red shirts, junior-to-be Michelle Perkins and sophomore-to-be Lauren Woods, could see a lot of time at the utility spot in 2006, having accrued 175 combined quarters this season.
“We will stay with the defensive system we have now, but offensively we will see what we have and we will have something in mind after a few months of work,” Sanders said.
Sanders knows that all the ingredients for a strong team next season are in place, but realizes that it will take a little work to bring it all together.
“The girls have a lot of experience,” he said. “The question is, are they going to step up? They have to be the ones to do it.”
