Nov. 17, 2010

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Nov. 17, 2010) - For the sixth time since 2001, an LMU men's water polo player has been named the Western Water Polo Association Player of the Year. For 2010, the winner of that honor is senior Ikaika Aki, who took home the conference's top honor as announced by the WWPA on Wednesday, Nov. 17.

Aki was also named first-team All-WWPA, the second consecutive season he has earned first-team honors. Joining him on that team is junior Edgaras Asajavicius, earning first-team honors for the first time after taking home second-team honors a year ago, and senior goalie Andy Stevens, his third straight first-team award. Senior Daniel Smith was named honorable mention All-WWPA. Head Coach John Loughran was named Co-Coach of the Year, sharing the honor with Steve Doten of UC Davis. Its his ninth coach of the year honor, the fifth on the men's side.

All told, 27 student-athletes have been honored, as seven of the 12 teams in the WWPA finished at .500 or better in 2010, with nine teams earning wins over Top-20 programs.

Aki did a little of everything for the Lions, scoring 20 goals, with team highs in assists (35), steals (56) and field blocks (25). His 35 assists is tied for the fifth most in a single season at LMU. He needs one more assist to be the first Lions to ever crack the century mark for career goals, assists, steals and field blocks. He has 100 goals (ranked 18th), 99 assists (2nd), 170 steals (1st) and 111 field blocks (1st).

As for Stevens, who was the WWPA Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009, he became the first Lion to eclipse 1,000 career saves, totaling 1,167 after going for 240 this season. He has allowed just 6.48 goals this season and his 19 saves against Long Beach State in the regular season finale was his best of the year.

In three seasons, Asajavicius has already scored 143 goals in his career, thanks to his team-high 48 this season. He is ranked 10th all-time at LMU. Smith is making his first appearance on the All-WWPA teams, scoring 16 goals with a team-high 56 kickouts this season.

2010 Western Water Polo Association Men's Water Polo Honors
Player of the Year: Ikaika Aki - LMU (Sr., UTL)
Newcomer of the Year: Erick Gonzalez - Whittier (Fr., ATT)
Co-Coach of the Year: Steve Doten - UC Davis; John Loughran - LMU

First-Team All-WWPA
Ikaika Aki - LMU (Sr., UTL)
Edgaras Asajavicius - LMU (Jr., UTL-L)
Brian Donohoe - UC San Diego (So., 2MD)
Stephen Hobbs - Santa Clara (Sr., 2M)
Carlos Martinez - UC Davis (Sr., UTL)
Aaron Salit - UC Davis (Jr., CTR)
Andy Stevens - LMU (Sr., GK)

Second-Team All-WWPA
Ryan Allred - UC San Diego (Sr., DR)
James Case - Santa Clara (Jr., DR)
Brian Chong - Claremont (Jr., DR)
Robert Geiger - Air Force (Sr., DR)
Ben Hadley - Pomona-Pitzer (Sr., ATT)
Brendan Meaney - Redlands (Sr., CTR)
David Morton - UC San Diego (Jr., GK)

Honorable Mention All-WWPA
Ryan Balikian - Pomona-Pitzer (Sr., UTL)
Rilesh Desai - Whittier (Sr., UTL)
Colin Hicks - UC Davis (So., ATT)
Kurt Lemmen - Air Force (Sr., 2MD)
Chase Parlee - Chapman (Sr., DR)
Daniel Smith - LMU (Sr., 2MD)
Michael Wishart - Santa Clara (Jr., GK)

WWPA All-Freshman Team
Tucker Carlson - Santa Clara (2M)
Jarrod Gaut - Pomona-Pitzer (CTR)
Erick Gonzalez - Whittier (ATT)
Teddy Nicholson - UC Davis (CTR)
Dane Sequeira - UC San Diego (DR)
Joshua Stedman - Air Force (DR)
No goalie nominated.

Follow the championships online at www.TheWWPA.com.