April 23, 2008

Los Angeles, CA (April 23, 2008) - Last week junior Nicole Hughes set the all-time single season scoring record with her 78th goal in a four-goal effort to lead Loyola Marymount to a win over the eighth ranked team in the nation. This week she has been named first-team All-Conference by the Western Water Polo Association, who released their annual award winners on Wednesday.

Joining Hughes in earning WWPA honors is senior Alex Wike as a second-team selection, and freshman Diana Romero as an honorable mention selection. Romero and fellow freshman Mary Ann Campos were also named to the WWPA All-Freshman Team, which is in its first year as an award in 2008 for the women.

Hughes will enter the upcoming WWPA Women's Water Polo Championship at LMU with 78 goals on the season, snapping the previous record of 75 held by Stacia Peterson in 2005. Hughes ranks ninth nationally in goals and is averaging nearly three goals a game this season. She has led the Lions in scoring in 19 of their 28 games on the year.

For Wike, she has put an impressive end to her four-year career as a Lion. She has nearly doubled her career high in goals with 19, her previous high was 11 in 2005 as a freshman. She also has a career high in field blocks with 18, tops on the squad this season.

For Romero and Campos, they have provided a youthful one-two punch for the Lions. Campos is second on the team in goals with 37 while brining in 29 steals and 10 assists in her first season at LMU. Romero scored 22 goals and is third in the team with 35 steals and fourth in kicks-out drawn with 38. She is also third in field blocks with eight.

The Lions are the No. 2 seed in the upcoming championships at LMU starting on Friday, April 25 and running through Sunday, April 27. The Lions will play the winner of the No. 7 Cal State San Bernardino-No. 10 UC Santa Cruz game at 4 p.m.

2008 Western Water Polo Association Women's Water Polo Honors
First-Team All-WWPA
Freyja Berg (Sr., Utl.) - CS San Bernardino
Veronica Campbell (Jr., GK) - CS Bakersfield
Sydney Gstettenbauer (Jr., Att.) - UC San Diego
Nicole Hughes (Jr., Dr.) - LMU
Amanda Ortiz (Jr., Utl.) - CS Bakersfield
Christi Raycraft (Sr., Att.) - UC Davis
Jessica Soza (Sr., Def.) - UC Davis

Second-Team All-WWPA
Samantha Burchard (Sr., Att.) - Sonoma State
Nicole Hermann (Sr., Utl.) - UC San Diego
Kim Hockett (Sr., GK) - UC San Diego
Petra Koudelkova (Jr., 2M) - CS Bakersfield
Chelsea Laning (Sr., Ctr.) - CS Monterey Bay
Elizabeth Perry (Sr., 2MD) - Santa Clara
Laura Uribe (Sr., Ctr.) - UC Davis
Alex Wike (Sr., 2MD) - LMU

Honorable Mention All-WWPA
Randahl Capurro (Sr., GK) - Santa Clara
Amy Lamb (Jr., Utl.) - Santa Clara
Emily McCullough (Sr., Def.) - Colorado St.
Casie Mota (Sr., Att.) - UC Davis
Christie Miller (Sr., Utl.) - Santa Clara
Diana Romero (Fr., 2M) - LMU

WWPA All-Freshman Team
Bryanna Burns (GK) - CS San Bernardino
Mary Ann Campos - LMU
Hanalei Crowell - UC San Diego
Taylor Harkins - Santa Clara
Dakotah Mohr - UC Davis
Diana Romero - LMU
Nikki Smart - CS Monterey Bay

Player of the Year: Amanda Ortiz (Jr., Utl.) - CS Bakersfield
Newcomer of the Year: Veronica Campbell (Jr., GK) - CS Bakersfield
Coach of the Year: Jamey Wright (25th Year) - UC Davis

Follow the championships online at WWPA Tournament Central.