April 26, 2004
Los Angeles, CA (April 26) - With the dust settling on 17 games in three days at the 2004 Western Water Polo Association Championships, the Loyola Marymount University women's water polo team added individual honors to their fourth straight WWPA title they won thanks to a 7-3 victory over UC San Diego on Sunday.
Senior Devon Wright was named the WWPA Player of the Year thanks to impressive season highlighted by a dominating performance in the WWPA tournament. Wright, who becomes the fourth consecutive Lion named WWPA Player of the Year, scored seven goals in three games, including two in the championship win over the Tritons at the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Center.
Joining Wright as a first-team All-WWPA selection are seniors Teresa Guidi and Jamie Kroeze. Sophomore Stacia Peterson has been chosen as a second-team selection and Head Coach John Loughran was named WWPA Coach of the Year for the fourth time.
Wright, Guidi and Kroeze are leaders of a senior class who will wrap up their careers at LMU as one of the all-time winningest classes in school history. The senior class will head into the 2004 NCAA Tournament with a record of 92-29 (.760) in four seasons, going 41-6 (.872) at the Burns Recreation Center. They now have won four straight conference titles and will make their fourth straight trip to the NCAAs on May 8-9 at Stanford University.
Wright earns her second straight first-team selection as she sits second on the team with 53 goals on a 44.2 shooting percentage. She added 24 steals and drew 34 kickouts on opponents to assist the Lions in scoring better than 45 percent during 6-on-5 advantages. In two seasons Wright has 99 career goals, ranking fourth all-time in LMU history.
Kroeze and Guidi are also two-time first-team All-WWPA selections. Guidi, last year's player of the year in the conference, is third on the team with 40 goals with a career-best 76 steals to lead the Lions. She has a 46.5 shooting percentage and is second on the team in 12 assists.
Kroeze, a captain along with Guidi, has been one of the Lions all-time team leaders, playing in a program best 120 games in four seasons with the Lions. She has 17 goals this season with a team-high 34 assists. The assist total is fourth all-time in program history for a single season, giving her 68 during her career, which is ranked third all-time.
In just her second season with the Lions, Peterson has made a mark on the Lions' offense. In leading the 2004 Lions to all-time scoring record in LMU history, Peterson leads the team with 57 goals on an impressive 57.0 shooting percentage. Her offensive power led to a team-high 43 kickouts on the season. Her three five-goal games this season is an LMU record as she now has four five-goal games in her career.
WWPA All-Conference Selections
Coach of the Year: John Loughran, LMU
Player of the Year: Devon Wright, LMU
First Team
GK: Stephanie Lombardo, UC San Diego
Devon Wright, LMU
Meris Bantilan-Smith, UC San Diego
Teresa Guidi, LMU
Jamie Kroeze, LMU
Tiffany Hodgens, UC Davis
Brittany Russell, UC Davis
Second Team
GK: Amanda Wells, CS San Bernardino
Alli Johnstone, UC Davis
Lori Mattingly, CS Bakersfield
Catherine Flynn, Santa Clara
Sarah Reneker, CS San Bernardino
Stacia Peterson, LMU
Jamie Baker, CS Bakersfield
Honorable Mention
GK: Nikki Hall, UC Davis
Jessica Wong, UC San Diego
Amy Davis, CS Bakersfield
Katie Radvanyi, Santa Clara
Courtney Clevenger, UC San Diego
Alissa Larimer, CS Hayward
Kristina Eich, Chapman
- GO LIONS -
