Redlands Women's Water Polo Recognized for Scholarly Success
It was announced earlier today by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) that the University of Redlands women's water polo team collected individual and team accolades for academic achievement.
Seven Bulldogs landed among this year's selections, which included more than 250 honorees from NCAA Divisions I, II, and III.
The ACWPC has three levels of academic honors: "Outstanding" acknowledges student-athletes with a GPA of 3.71 and above, "Superior" awards those between 3.41 and 3.7, and "Excellent" recognizes those between 3.2 and 3.4.
Headlining the team's accolades, freshman driver Hannah Ongman (Flossmoor, IL) represented the Bulldogs as the lone recipient of "Outstanding" honors. She played an important part in the team's success during the 2012 season, scoring 19 goals while dishing out eight assists. She also notched 29 steals and drew six ejections. This Psychology major is one of 15 Division III players to receive the "Outstanding" distinction.
Senior driver Jaime Nippert (Gresham, OR) garnered her third consecutive "Superior" accolade and fourth ACWPC Academic award overall. During her final campaign, she led the team in goals (91), assists (52), and field blocks (16), and now ranks in the top 10 all-time for Redlands in all three categories. Nippert recently completed her degree in Psychology.
Along with Nippert, senior center Joy Corona (Lake Bluff, IL) tallied another "Superior" distinction, this one making it her fourth overall. Corona led the team in ejections drawn (123) and holds the all-time single-season and career records in that category. She graduated in May with a degree in English Literature.
Sophomore goalkeeper Julie Lupfer (San Diego, CA) earned her inaugural ACWPC "Superior" award after serving as the starting net-tender during the 2012 season. A Creative Writing major, Lupfer corralled 268 saves this year and currently ranks sixth all-time in Redlands history for saves and second all time in goalie steals.
Junior driver Stephanie Taylor (Sacramento, CA), along with freshman driver Tricia Bannister (Naperville, IL), rounded out the group of Bulldogs that earned "Superior" distinction. The honor marks Taylor's second ACWPC Academic selection after receiving "Excellent" honors in 2011. This Psychology major contributed two goals, 12 assists and 19 steals. Bannister, a Business Administration major, tallied three goals to go along with two assists and five steals while earning her inaugural ACWPC Academic honors.
Junior driver Moana Tuipulotu (Lahaina, HI) garnered her third straight "Excellent" distincition as an Environmental Studies major. Tuipulotu put together an impressive 2012 season by scoring 25 goals while distributing 33 assists and nabbing 64 steals. She also drew 30 ejections in her successful campaign.
Overall, the squad accumulated a 3.13 GPA, ranking them at No. 16 overall among the member institutions of the ACWPC.
To view a complete list of the ACWPC All-Academic honorees, please visit: http://www.collegewaterpolocoach.org/womens-all-academic-awards.html