July 19, 2011

2011 ACWPC All-America Teams

STANFORD, Calif. - Sophomore two-meter Annika Dries was named National Player of the Year and head coach John Tanner was named National Coach of the Year by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Tuesday. In addition, six Cardinal players earned All-America nods from the organization.

Dries, fellow two-meter Melissa Seidemann and goalie Amber Oland were all named to the ACWPC All-America First team. Junior driver Alyssa Lo earned a second-team nod while senior Kim Krueger and freshman Kaley Dodson were each named honorable mention.

The All-America announcement comes following a 2011 season in which Stanford went 28-1 overall en route to winning its second NCAA title with a 9-5 victory in the championship game over California.

It was the second national title the Cardinal has won under Tanner's watch, with the first coming in 2002. Tanner guided Stanford to a 28-1 overall record and a perfect 7-0 mark in MPSF play in 2011, sweeping the team's three games at the National Collegiate Championship in Ann Arbor, Mich. for the NCAA trophy.

Under Tanner's watch the Cardinal outscored its opponents 359-139 in 2011, as six players scored at least 20 goals.

Leading the team in goals scored was Dries, who was named the Peter J. Cutino Award winner in June, given annually to the nation's top men's and women's collegiate water polo players. Dries scored 65 goals on the year, including five in the Cardinal's national title game win over California, and was also named the MPSF Player of the Year and to the conference's first team.

Seidemann, who teamed with Dries to form the nation's foremost two-meter tandem, finished the season with 51 goals. Her performance earned her a spot on the All-MPSF First Team and she was also a finalist for the Peter J. Cutino Award in 2011. Her selection to the ACWPC All-America team is the third such honor of her career.

Oland earned her second career All-America nod following a season in which she made 156 saves over 20 appearances, an average of 7.80 per game. She anchored the Cardinal defense, ranking second in the MPSF with a goals-against average of 4.96. Oland's contributions were not limited to the defensive end, either, as the Santa Ana, Calif. native scored the first two goals of her collegiate career in 2011, including a highlight-reel goal from across the tank in the national semifinals against USC.

Lo earned her first All-America nod from the ACWPC after scoring 42 goals in 2011, third-best on the team. The junior driver scored three goals in Stanford's opening-round victory over Iona at the National Collegiate Championship. Earlier in the season she was named All-MPSF honorable mention.

Krueger (36 goals) and Dodson (27) also earned the first All-America mentions of their careers. Krueger ranked fourth on the team in goals scored while Dodson came in sixth. Each player was recognized earlier in the year by the MPSF, as Krueger was named honorable mention and Dodson earned a spot on the MPSF All-Newcomer Team.