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

Senior center Ryan Floersch (San Jose, CA) of the University of Redlands men’s water polo team earned Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Male Athlete of the Week honors for the week of Nov. 16-22 as a result of his performances in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championships, as announced on Wednesday by the conference office.

Floersch boasted a remarkable 15 goals in three games against stellar competition at the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championships from Nov. 20-22. He netted a game-high four scores in a 13-14 overtime loss to then-No.10 UC San Diego before pouring on eight in a 12-15 defeat at the hands of the then-No. 14 U.S. Air Force Academy (CO). His three goals against Chapman University in the seventh-place game proved to be the difference in a 12-9 victory. Floersch’s performances have not gone without notice as he also picked up First-Team All-WWPA and SCIAC Player of the Year laurels.

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.

Alicia Freese, a cross country runner from Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, garnered the women’s award after earning All-America status at the 2009 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Nov. 21.

The SCIAC Athletes of the Week are voted on by the eight conference sports information directors on a weekly basis.