By Wendy Mayer on SwimSwam
Thirty-five student-athletes representing 14 institutions were honored as Division III men’s water polo All-Americans by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC).
Whittier College’s Dominick Nevarezwas honored as the Division III Player of the Year, while his coach David Kasas was tabbed as Coach of the Year after leading the Poets to the inaugural USA Water Polo Division III National Championship.
Nevarez put in 66 goals and added 19 assists as the Poets went 21-12, including a 13-1 mark in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the team’s first SCIAC Tournament title since 2014.
Five other Whittier players earned All-America honors, with Hans Zdolsek and goalie Murat Ersoz joining Nevarez on the first team.Eric Borunda was tabbed as a second team honoree, while Micah Kamai and Carlos Heredia Viteri garnered honorable mention acclaim.
National runnerup Claremont-Mudd-Scripps put one player on the first team, one on the second and two on the honorable mention listing. Ethan Lewis represented the Stags on the first team after scoring a career-best 50 goals.
Third place finisher MIT and four place finisher Johns Hopkins each saw one player make the first team and one bring home second team honors. Miller Geschke represented the Engineers on the first team, while Finn Banks earned first team nods for the Blue Jays. Geschke notched 82 goals and 31 assists for MIT, while Banks earned his second career honor (also second team in 2017) with 70 goals and a program record 71 assists.
Pomona-Pitzer’s Dylan Elliott and Redlands’ Spencer Allen rounded out the first team. Elliot was a first team All-SCIAC selection after posting 37 goals and six assists. Allen posted 32 goals and 14 assists en route to first team All-SCIAC accolades.
2019 ACWPC Division III All-Americans
| First Team | |
| Murat Ersoz (Goalie) | Whittier |
| Hans Zdolsek | Whittier |
| Dominick Nevarez | Whittier |
| Ethan Lewis | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps |
| Finn Banks | Johns Hopkins |
| Miller Geschke | MIT |
| Dylan Elliott | Pomona-Pitzer |
| Spencer Allen | Redlands |
| Second Team | |
| Matt Olimski (Goalie) | Penn State Behrend |
| Max Wade | Austin College |
| Graham Asalone | Chapman |
| Zack Rossma | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps |
| Ben Brown | Cal Lutheran |
| Jayden Kunwar | Johns Hopkins |
| Clyde Huibregtse | MIT |
| Eric Borunda | Whittier |
| Honorable Mention | |
| Andre Rivas (Goalie) | Cal Lutheran |
| Wesley Hertel (Goalie) | Chapman |
| Noah Smith (Goalie) | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps |
| Will Koelzer | Austin College |
| Steven Csaposs | Cal Tech |
| Dillon Goldsmith | Cal Lutheran |
| Evan Belli | Chapman |
| Will Clark | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps |
| Arturo Freitas | Connecticut College |
| Mike Gertsik | Connecticut College |
| Isaak Hatopp | Penn State Behrend |
| Andre Sardayzadeh | Penn State Behrend |
| Joe Schafer | Pomona-Pitzer |
| Noah Sasaki | Pomona-Pitzer |
| Charles Ortega | La Verne |
| Cooper Krause | Redlands |
| Will Kitsch | Washington & Jefferson |
| Micah Kamai | Whittier |
| Carlos Heredia Viteri | Whittier |
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Whittier’s Nevarez, Kasas Named Division III WP Player, Coach of the Year