Bulldog Women's Water Polo Hauls in Multiple ACWPC All-Academic Awards in Stellar Showing

mug shots of 12 women's water polo student-athletes who earned ACWPC All-Academic Honors
Posted: Jul 06, 2018

It was announced by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) on Thursday that the University of Redlands women's program garnered 12 individual awards and one team honor for academic success during the 2017-18 campaign. 

The All-Academic Awards list includes individuals over three categories of scholarly achievement based on GPA, including "outstanding" (4.0-3.71), "superior (3.70-3.41), and "excellent" (3.40-3.20). In addition, all collegiate teams with a combined GPA of 3.00 or higher are honored by the ACWPC.

The majority of Redlands' honorees falls in the highest level of academic success as "outstanding" recipients.  Junior goalkeeper Allison Totzke (San Bernardino, CA), junior attacker Wendy McAleer (Simi Valley, CA), and junior attacker Sami Walker (Taylorsville, UT) each received their third-straight award as exemplary student-athletes. Sophomore attacker Courtney Gray (Yucaipa, CA) earned back-to-back "outstanding" plaudits, while junior center Kolby Kahahawai (Kailua, HI) moved up from "superior" to "outstanding" for her third overall selection by the ACWPC.  Making their inaugural appearance among the honorees, first-year defender Jena Suzuki (Wailuku, HI) and first-year attacker Kelly Klish (Glenview, IL) complete the impressive group of "outstanding" recipients for the Maroon and Gray.

Senior attacker Michelle Na (Mercer Island, WA) gains her third overall award but makes the jump into the "superior" category after two years of gaining the "excellent" accolade.  Junior attacker Katelyn Jenkins (Bellevue, WA) also rises into the "superior" award to complement last season's "excellent" honor. 

Finally, junior goalkeeper Kelly Grosswendt (Newbury Park, CA) repeats as an "excellent" selection, while first-year driver Sarah Draves (Fallbrook, CA) and first-year center Alina Waldo (Portland, OR) reel in inaugural awards.

Overall, the Bulldogs produced a team GPA of 3.30 among the 21-woman roster to exceed the minimum requirement for this honor.

For a complete list of the award recipients, please visit the ACWPC website.