Pair of Pioneer water polo players named All-Americans
Pierce becomes the Pioneers' first four-time All-American as she and Hudyn capture 2013 first-team honors. (Photo: Kelley Cox/KLC Fotos)
- July 10, 2013
A pair of Cal State East Bay water polo players has been named to the 2013 Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Division II All-America team.
Senior Claire Pierce (Perth, Australia) and junior Sara Hudyn (Kitchener, Ontario) were both first-team honorees. This marks the 11th consecutive year that CSUEB has had a representative on the All-America squads.
It's the fourth straight selection to the first team for Pierce, who made history as the first player in Pioneer history to accomplish such a feat. She scored 95 goals and dished out 30 assists in 2013, and she posted team-leading figures with 56 steals and a remarkable 110 drawn ejections. Statistically the greatest CSUEB field player ever, Pierce has scored more goals, stolen more balls, and drawn more ejections than any Pioneer in the program's history. With 90 goals as a freshman, 87 as a sophomore, 87 as a junior, and 95 as a senior, she owns four of the seven highest-scoring seasons ever by a Pioneer. Pierce is also a four-time All-Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) selection and a four-time WWPA All-Academic selection.
Not to be outdone, Hudyn was recognized on the first team as one of the most dominant scorers in the nation this past year, making this the fourth time in six years the Pioneers have boasted two first-team honorees. The Canadian native broke the CSUEB single-season scoring record with 109 goals in her third season. For her career, she's the third-highest scorer in Pioneer history with 172 goals. She also ranks seventh all-time in steals after grabbing 48 in 2013 (second on the team). Hudyn picked up her first career All-America nod after previously earning a selection to the 2013 All-WWPA first team.
Fittingly, the two Pioneer players were picked as WWPA Co-Players of the Week earlier this year during a weekend in which the team took down Colorado State, Sonoma State, and Santa Clara. Pierce and Hudyn shared the award on April 10 after combining to score 28 goals in five games.
CSUEB was one of two schools to place multiple players on the NCAA Division II first team. UC San Diego led all DII institutions with three first-team selections (Sarah Lizotte, Melissa Bartow, and Courtney Miller) and one second-team selection (Alexis Wieseler). Cal State San Bernardino's Misty Vu was a first-team pick, and Sonoma State's Laura Kunz made the second team, making it eight total honorees from the WWPA.