May 8, 2012
TEMPE – The Arizona State University water polo team celebrated its best season in school history on Sunday, May 6 with a postseason awards banquet at the Trophy Room at Karsten Golf Course in Tempe.
Head coach Todd Clapper honored several members of the team with awards in honor of the team achievements in 2012. On the season, the squad finished 25-6 overall and set a school record in wins in the process. The team was 6-4 in MPSF matchups and took fifth at the MPSF Championships in Palo Alto, Calif., two weekends ago – the best finish in program history.
Alicia Brightwell was honored by the team and staff as the squad’s Most Valuable Player after putting together one of the best single season’s in school history. Brightwell finished up the season with 75 goals – second-most in school history – and 96 total points, which were also good for the second-best single season tally in school history.
Brightwell led the conference in goals and goals per game with tallies of 75 and 2.78, respectively. Brightwell scored three or more goals in 18 games on the year, including matching a school record with seven in the team’s 12-11 victory over San Diego State in the fifth-place game at the MPSF Championships. Brightwell was named to the MPSF All-Conference First-Team for her performance on the year and was also part of the MPSF All-Tournament team for her contributions during the postseason tournament.
Junior Shannon Haas was named the Leader of Total Offense as she scored a career-best 47 goals on the year while leading the team by drawing an impressive 67 kick-outs on opposing players. Haas was a trooper in the center position for ASU and among the most dominant players in that position in the conference, as demonstrated by her school-record seven-goal performance against San Diego St. earlier in the season.
Senior Kelsey White was honored by the team as the Defensive Player of the Year. White oft found herself guarding the opposing team’s top offensive players and was the team’s vocal and physical leader as a captain in 2011. In addition to her prowess on the defensive end, White posted 57 points (32 goals, 25 assists) on the offensive end as she moved to eighth on ASU’s career list in assists and 10th in points.
The Strength and Conditioning Staff named freshman Anna Kertes as the Lifter of the Year in honor of being the team’s top performer in the weight room on the season. Kertes made a name for herself as one of the top freshmen in the conference this year and one of the fastest player in the pool, often ending up on the winning end of the team sprints. Kertes was dangerous on offensive as well as she notched 47 goals on the year, second most among freshmen in ASU history and second among all MPSF freshmen.
Amanda Young was named the Most Improved player for the second time in as many seasons. Young came to Arizona State as a goalkeeper, the position she played her freshman year before making the transition to the pool itself. In 2012, Young scored nine goals and seven assists while becoming a useful utility player off the bench for the Sun Devils.
The team also introduced its captains for the 2013 campaign with all three coming from the awards winners on Sunday in Shannon Haas, Alicia Brightwell and Amanda Young.