HOME OF BULLDOG MEN'S WATER POLO - 1993, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009 SCIAC Champions

The No. 20 University of Redlands men’s water polo team gained three All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) honorees while senior center Ryan Floersch (San Jose, CA) was lauded as the SCIAC Player of the Year, as announced on Friday by the conference office.

In addition to R. Floersch’s Player of the Year accolades, both senior driver Erik Grosshans (Oxnard, CA) and senior central defender John Floersch (San Jose, CA) garnered First-Team All-SCIAC honors while senior goalkeeper Teddy Trowbridge (Mercer Island, WA) was recognized as Second-Team All-SCIAC.

R. Floersch follows a legacy of Maroon-and-Gray clad Player of the Year recipients, serving as the eighth Bulldog to earn the distinction. In conference contests, he scored 20 goals while adding 12 assists, seven steals, three field blocks and 33 ejections drawn. His regular-season total of 125 ejections drawn nearly doubled the previous program mark of 63, which Sean McWhorter ’96 set back in 1995. R. Floersch also eclipsed McWhorter’s career standard of 188, earning 220 throughout his four years competing for Redlands. Last week, he gained First-Team All-Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) laurels. This marks his first-ever Player of the Year citation and his inaugural mention among players honored by the SCIAC.

Serving as the key outlet to the Bulldog offense, Grosshans dished out a team-high 27 assists in conference. He rattled the back of the cage on 15 occasions during SCIAC play and also produced seven steals, seven ejections drawn and four field blocks. Grosshans supplied a program-record 78 assists on the season, surpassing the previous mark of 61 set by Mike Dempsey ’99 in 1998. He also tied Jared Young ’94 for first all-time in career assists with 118. This is Grosshans’ first-ever All-Conference honor.

A leader on defense for the Maroon and Gray, J. Floersch drew the team’s second-highest number of ejections in SCIAC contests with 12. Also in conference competition, he tied for Bulldogs’ the second-best steal total (six) while collecting five field blocks, 14 goals and one assist. On the year, he accumulated 65 ejections drawn, which ranks second all-time in a single season. He also anchors down the seventh-best spot on the program’s career list for ejections drawn (115). This is his first-ever All-Conference recognition.

Finally, Trowbridge earned a place on the All-SCIAC Second Team following a remarkable season protecting the Bulldog goal. He stopped 62 shots in SCIAC play while also notching seven steals. In the SCIAC Championship Tournament, he made a game-high 11 saves in the team’s 13-9 semifinal win over Pomona-Pitzer Colleges before halting eight attempts in Redlands’ championship-tilt triumph over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. Following his standout 2009 campaign, he wound up ranked third all-time in both single-season saves (234) and career saves (686). This is Trowbridge’s inaugural All-Conference citation.

Redlands (18-18, 9-1 SCIAC) finished out its season as SCIAC champions while placing seventh at the WWPA Championships. Head Coach Tom Whittemore, who just completed his 22nd year at the helm of the program, sits just eight wins shy of 400 on his career.

The All-SCIAC teams and Player of the Year are voted on by the conference’s eight head coaches following the conclusion of the SCIAC season. For a complete look at the selections, visit http://www.thesciac.org/sports/mwp/2009-10/news/mwp_allsciac_2009