All-Century Women's Water Polo Team announced on 'Pac-12 Sports Report'

May 17, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO (May 17, 2016) – Filled with Olympians and National Champions, the Pac-12 All-Century Women’s Water Polo team was announced Monday night during Pac-12 Networks’ flagship show, ‘Pac-12 Sports Report.’

This team was voted on by a panel of 24 consisting of coaches, players, administrators and member of the media. Members were voted to the team based on their collegiate careers. Out of 51 nominees, the All-Century Team consists of 16 players – eight drivers/attackers, six field/utility/center/2m and two goaltenders.

Stanford leads all schools with 7 players, followed by UCLA (6), USC (2), and California (1). Fifteen of the sixteen members of the team are Olympians, with a total of 26 Olympic medals won. Representing three different decades, team members have taken home thirty-three NCAA Championships.

Former UCLA Head Coach Adam Krikorian was named the Women’s Water Polo Coach of the Century, with the Cardinal’s Brenda Villa earning Player of the Century honors.

Krikorian has earned National Women's Water Polo Coach of the Year honors five times, in addition to National Men's Coach of the Year honors in 2004 after leading the UCLA men's program to its eighth overall NCAA championship. As the women's water polo head coach, Krikorian guided UCLA to eight national championships (seven NCAA titles), including a string of five consecutive titles, and collected an .867 winning percentage (288-44 record). He led the Bruins to perfect 33-0 records in 2005 and 2008. Additionally, he's piloted the men's program to three NCAA titles; two of the three came as he served as co-head coach with Guy Baker. In 2004-2005, he led both the men’s and women’s water polo teams to an NCAA title. Since 2009, Team USA has competed in 12 major FINA Championships and come away with Gold in nine. He's helped the United States maintain a number-one world ranking for the majority of his tenure and was honored in 2013 with the USOC National Coach of Year Award, only the second water polo coach to receive the honor.

A 2012 Olympic gold medalist, two-time Olympic silver medalist and 2004 Olympic bronze medalist, Villa has served as a member of the USA Water Polo 2011, 2001 and 1998 FINA World Championships teams. She was a 2010 FINA World Cup gold medalist and a 2002 FINA World Cup silver medalist, in addition to being a member of the USA Water Polo 1999 and 1998 FINA World Cup teams. A three-time Pan American Championships gold medalist (2003, 2007, 2011) and a 1999 Pan American Championships silver medalist, Villa was the 2001 AWPCA Player of the Year and a 2002 NCAA champion. To add to her accomplishments, Villa is a three-time first team All-American (2001, 2002, 2003) and is eighth in Stanford history in career goals with 173. Villa’s career-high 69 goals in 2001 is fourth in Stanford single-season history.

See below for the entire team:

Pac-12 All-Century Women’s Water Polo Team

DRIVERS/ATTACKERS

Brenda Villa – Stanford, 2001-03

Kelly Rulon – UCLA, 2003, 2005-07

Maggie Steffens – Stanford, 2013-15

Coralie Simmons – UCLA, 1996-98, 2001

Kiley Neushul – Stanford, 2012-15

Courtney Mathewson – UCLA, 2005-08

Sofia Konoukh – USC, 2001-03

Heather Petri – California, 1997-99, 2001

FIELD/UTILITY/CENTER/2M