ACWPC Division III All-Americans
REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Men's Water Polo team earned a trio of 2022 Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-American selections, which included Andrew Higginson (San Diego, CA) landing on the 1st Team and Liam Murphy (Placentia, CA) and Ron Gvishi (Kiryat Tivon, Israel) getting voted Honorable Mention.
All three have now earned recognition as an All-American for the first time in their careers. They also combined to win five SCIAC Athlete of the Week selections on the season.
Making the 1st Team was Higginson who tied for the team lead with 47 goals and was second in assists with 23 and points with 70. On the defensive side he had a team-high 40 steals, 12 field blocks, and drew 11 exclusions. During the USA Water Polo Division III Collegiate National Championships he was named to the All-Tournament team.
Murphy was named an Honorable Mention All-American following a great finish to the season, which included being named to the USA Water Polo Division III Collegiate National Championship All-Tournament team, while being voted the tournaments Most Valuable Player. During the five-game stretch that included the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament, national semifinal, and national championship game, he went 4-1 with 60 saves, a .645 save percentage, and a 4.6 goals-against average.
Gvishi was also named an Honorable Mention All-American, finishing the season as the Bulldogs' joint-leading scorer with 47 goals, while adding a team-high 27 assists for 74 points, which was also a team best. Gvishi also made an impact on the defensive side where he had 35 steals, which was second most on the team, eight field blocks, third most, drawing five exclusions and added 32 sprints won.
The voting process for the awards is based on nominations and voting by the varsity head coaches in Division III and are calculated and disseminated by The ACWPC.