WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Nov. 7

Mike McGee

UC Davis

Gaolie Mike McGee has been named the WWPA Men’s Water Polo Player of the Week for Nov. 7. McGee totalled 35 saves and seven steals in two games over the weekend. He had a season-best 20 saves with three steals in the Aggies’ 11-6 win over Santa Clara on Saturday and had previously posted 15 saves with four steals in a 6-4 loss at No. 4 Stanford. For the week, compiled save average of .745 (35 saves against 12 goals).

Other Nominees: Alex Mule, Chapman; Matt Rogers, Whittier; Tyler Hewko, Air Force

WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Oct. 31

WILL JACKSON

Whittier

Freshman Will Jackson of Whittier filled multiple roles on his way to being named Western Water Polo Association Player of the Week. Jackson had a great week contributing to the the poets win over Cal Tech and the near upset at Occidental College.  His stat line for the two games was five goals, five steals and three assists. He also was shooting 45% from the field this week and filled in as a Goalie against Cal Tech in the fourth quarter, notching two saves.

Other Nominees: Joseph Smith, UC Davis; Robert Callahan, Santa Clara

WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Oct. 24

NICK ARRIGO

UC Davis

Nick Arrigo, a senior from UC Davis, scored just four goals in three UC Davis wins, but what he lacked in  quanity he made up for in quantity. Because of that he has been named the WWPA Player of the Week for Oct. 24. He hit game-tying goal with 1:19 remaining in fourth, then game-winner with 0.14 of a second in first overtime in Aggies’ 9-8 win over UC San Diego. Two days later, scored game-winning goal with one second remaining to lift UC Davis to 9-8 upset over No. 6 Long Beach State.

Other Nominees: David Ostrom, Air Force; Chris Villanueva, Whittier

WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Oct. 17

ANDY STEVENS

LMU

LMU Freshman Andy Stevens made 47 saves in four games helping the Lions finish a program best seventh place in the SoCal Invitational. He allowed an average of just four goals in the Lions two wins over No. 7 UC Santa Barbara (5-4) and No. 7 UC Irvine (6-4). He had double digit saves in all four games, including 14 against UCSB and 11 against UC Irvine. He now has 12 games with double digit saves. Stevens efforts helped the Lions raise from No. 10 to No. 7 in the national polls with the record finish at SoCal.

Other Nominees: Chris Villanueva, Whittier; Nick Poggetti, Santa Clara; Andrew Valdes, Occidental

WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Oct. 10

JOSH EARLY

Santa Clara

Josh Early, a senior driver from Santa Clara, has been named the Western Water Polo Association Player of the Week for scoring 12 goals off the bench to lead the Broncos to a 4-0 record this past weekend.  In the one-goal game against No. 20 Brown, Early scored four goals with an assist.  He also recorded hat tricks against Pomona and Cal Lutheran.  His line this weekend  is: 12 goals, 1 assist, 1 steal.

Other Nominees: Cameron Brahmst, Occidental; Jacob Morton, UC Santa Cruz; Ryan Hall, Redlands; Manuel Sanchez, Whittier; Mike McGee, UC Davis; Mark Milovic, LMU

WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Oct. 3

ANDY STEVENS

Loyola Marymount

Freshman Andy Stevens (LMU) made 36 saves in three games against teams ranked in the nation’s top-20. His performance has earned him Western Water Polo Association Player of the Week honors for Oct. 3. He had a career-best 16 in the Lions’ 9-4 win on the road at No. 12 UC San Diego. He added 10 against No. 5 Pepperdine and another 10 against No. 8 UC Santa Barbara. On the season, Stevens leads the WWPA with 11.6 saves per game.

Other Nominees: Lucas Zepeda - UC Santa Cruz; Nick Arrigo - UC Davis; Justin Berry - Air Force

WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Sept. 25

TOMMY HENDRICKSON

Santa Clara

Santa Clara’s Tommy Hendrickson has been named the Western Water Polo Association Player of the Week for Sept. 26 as he scored 19 goals in five wins for the Broncos. To his 19 goals, he added 5 assists, 8 steals, and a kickout drawn while leading his team to a 5-0 record this week at the UCSC Slugfest. In the game against Claremont he scored 7 goals and had 5 steals and an assist.

Other Nominees: Grant Shubin (UCSC), Matt Brammer (Whittier); Mike McGee (UC Davis), Abiel Garcia (Occidental), Ryan Balikian (PP)

WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Sept. 18

NICK ARRIGO

UC Davis

Nick Arrigo has been selected as the Western Water Polo Association men’s water polo Player of the Week for Sept. 19. He scored a game-high four goals against No. 7 UC Santa Barbara on Friday, then scored 10 goals to lead UC Davis to a ninth-place finish at the NorCal Open over the weekend. He had had four goals in an 8-6 win over Santa Clara on Saturday, followed by hat tricks against Loyola Marymount and UC San Diego in Sunday’s action.

Other Nominees: Chris Villanueva, Whittier; Matt Heagy, Cal Lutheran; Clark Condict, Air Force; Liam Farrell, Santa Clara; Daniel Garcia, UCSD

WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Sept. 12

ANDREW VALDES

Occidental

Andrew Valdes, a junior from Occidental, has been named the Western Water Polo Association Player of the Week for Sept. 12. Valdes led Occidental with eight goals in four games at the Inland Empire Tournament. He scored a career-best four goals in the 13-12 win over WWPA foe La Verne. The junior added four steals, four assists and drew three ejections.

WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Sept. 5

ADAM BENNETT

UC Davis

Junior Adam Bennett led his UC Davis Aggies to a third place finish in the 2007 UC San Diego Triton Invitational last weekend. Bennett matched his entire 2006 scoring output by scoring 10 goals in the four-game Triton Invitational, including a career-best five scores in the Aggies’ win over Cal Baptist. Bennett and the Aggies also earned important wins over the top-two preseason picks in the Western Water Polo Associationa, defeating No. 10 Loyola Marymount 7-6 and then host and 8th-ranked UC San Diego 11-7.

Other Nominees:

Daniel Garcia (Sophomore, 2MO, San Dimas, Calif.)