Loyola Marymount’s Blazo Mitrovic was one of three men to turn in eight goal performances on Week 7 of collegiate water polo and he parlayed the effort into a Western Water Polo Association Player of the Week nod.
Meanwhile, Brown’s two upset wins on the week scored James Thygesen and Cole Atwell accolades from the Northeast Water Polo Conference.
Other standout performances by conference are listed below.
Golden Coast Conference
Player of the Week: Yahav Fire, San Jose State – Compiled 25 saves in two weekend contests; notched 18 stops in SJSU’s 8-3 win over #12 UC Irvine, the Spartans’ first GCC win since joining the league in 2017; recorded seven save sin a 10-6 loss to #7 Long Beach State
CWPA Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference
Offensive Player of the Week: Jake Miller-Tolt, Fordham – Chalked up 12 goals, four assists and eight steals vs. Navy and #18 Princeton; put in five goals and added four steals and two assists in a 15-12 loss to the Midshipmen; notched seven scores, including the game winner, four steals and two assists in an 11-10 win over the Tigers.
Defensive Player of the Week: Max Sandberg, Navy – Posted a career-high 11 saves and two steals in the Midshipmen’s 15-12 upset win over #16 Fordham
Rookie of the Week: Adam Hudson, Salem – Registered seven goals in three games for the Tigers; tallied two goals, an assist and a steal in a 16-8 win over Connecticut College; notched a goal, an assist, two steals and a drawn ejection in a 20-14 loss to McKendree; went 4-for-4 in the Tigers’ 24-13 win over Washington & Jefferson.
MPSF
Player of the Week: Matt Olimski, Penn State Behrend – Racked up 53 saves and two steals in three games; turned in a conference leading 24 stops in a 12-11 win over Iona, which was PSUB’s first win over a Division I team; added 24 saves in a 13-11 overtime loss to Mercyhurst; tacked on five stops while splitting time in the cage in a 19-7 loss vs. Gannon.
Newcomer of the Week: Tommy Gruwell, UCLA – Put in three goals, while adding two drawn exclusions, three steals, two assists and a field block across three games; notched two goals, two exclusions and a steal in 14-10 win over #3 Pacific; turned in two assists and a steal in a 12-6 win over #20 Cal Baptist; registered a goal, a steal and two field blocks in a 10-8 win over Whittier.
Northeast Water Polo Conference
Player of the Week: James Thygesen, Brown – Notched 11 goals and three assists in four contests; put in four goals in the team’s 10-9 win over Wagner and in a 12-9 victory over LaSalle; added a hat trick in a 16-10 upset win over #15 George Washington.
Defensive Player of the Week: Noah Hodge, Harvard – Grabbed 44 saves, two assists and two steals in four matches at the Harvard Invite; recorded 22 saves on Day 1 in wins over #15 George Washington 14-13 and #17 Pomona-Pitzer 17-16 SD; grabbed 15 saves in a 9-8 win over #14 Bucknell; registered seven stops in an 18-4 win over LaSalle.
Rookie of the Week: Cole Atwell, Brown – Registered 11 goals, four assists, four steals and four ejections as the Bears went 4-0; notched a hat trick in 10-6 upset win over #17 Pomona-Pitzer; put in two goals and added two steals in a 12-9 win over La Salle; dished out three assists in a 10-9 win over Wagner.
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletics Conference
Offensive Player of the Week: Dylan Elliott, Pomona-Pitzer – Scored 11 goals on the week, while adding an assist and a steal as the Sagehens went 3-2; put in two goals and added an assist and a steal in a 15-9 win over Chapman; scored once in a 10-6 loss vs. RV Brown; recorded five goals in a 17-16 overtime loss to #9 Harvard; notched two goals in a 10-4 win over La Salle; tacked on one goal in a 10-4 win over MIT.
Defensive Player of the Week: Andre Rivas, Cal Lutheran – Posted 25 saves and two assists as CLU went 2-0 in conference play; turned in 10 stops and an assist in an 11-7 win over La Verne; notched 15 saves and an assist in an 8-4 win over Occidental.
Western Water Polo Association
Player of the Week: Blazo Mitrovic, Loyola Marymount – Scored 10 goals in a pair of conference wins; notched two goals and three assists in a 15-9 victory over RV Santa Clara; netted eight goals and added nine assists in a 16-14 win over Air Force.
