Nov. 29, 2011

2011 All-MPSF Awards

STANFORD, Calif. - Freshman utility Alex Bowen was named the MPSF Newcomer of the Year, headlining five all-conference selections for Stanford men's water polo Tuesday.

He was also named to the All-MPSF First Team alongside redshirt sophomore two-meter Forrest Watkins. Senior driver Jacob Smith earned a spot on the second team, while seniors Peter Sefton and Brian Pingree were named honorable mentions.

Bowen becomes Stanford's third MPSF Newcomer of the Year, joining Will Hindle-Katel (2005) and Drac Wigo (2006) as winners of the award.

Bowen led the Cardinal with 53 goals in 2011. He became the first true freshman to lead the Cardinal in scoring since Wigo (2006) and Tony Azevedo (2001). He posted 17 multi-goal games, including 12 hat tricks. The highlight of those performances was a six-goal effort in a 10-9 overtime win over California that clinched Stanford's first SoCal Tournament title since 2002. That effort earned him MPSF Player of the Week honors on Oct. 3.

Watkins enjoyed a breakout season in 2011, scoring a career-best 42 goals to tie for second on the squad. The Seal Beach native became a key cog in the Cardinal offense and was Stanford's sole selection to the MPSF All-Tournament Team after scoring seven goals at the event last weekend.

Smith was named to the All-MPSF Second Team for the second year in a row. The Coronado native finished tied for second on the team with 42 goals, ending his Cardinal career with 156. Sefton was a fixture on the Cardinal defense, which ranks second in the conference with just 6.00 goals allowed per game. He also ranked fourth on the team with 30 goals.

Pingree, the anchor of the Cardinal defense in the cage, ranked second in the MPSF with a 6.17 goals-against average, and made 7.17 saves per game. Pingree played all but 10 of Stanford's 106 quarters of play in 2011, as well.

Stanford finished the 2011 season with a record of 19-7, and a 5-3 mark in MPSF play. The Cardinal took fourth at last weekend's MPSF Championship.

USC goalie Joel Dennerley was named MPSF Player of the Year, while UCLA's Adam Wright took home the Coach of the Year award.