Allen, Thomas, and Jackson Honored With Water Polo Weekly Awards
MAAC Sports
Allen, Thomas, and Jackson Honored With Water Polo Weekly Awards
Offensive Player of the Week
Lea Allen, Siena
Jr., Attacker, Saline, Michigan/Saline
Allen tallied a team-high 16 goals and shot 44 percent as the Saints matched their win total of last season, picking up two key MAAC wins. Allen also dished out six assists, and was solid on the defensive side with four steal, five ejections drawn, and four field blocks. In the Saints’ overtime win against VMI, Allen tallied four goals, including one in overtime and also two assists in the extra frame. She also won 11 of her 14 swim offs in the week.
Defensive Player of the Week
Rebecca Thomas, Marist
Sr., GK, Cape Town, South Africa/University of Cape Town
Thomas’ had her best weekend of the season, making 53 saves, including three double digit performances, with a 5.14 goals against average and .663 save percentage in Marist’s 5-1 weekend. She started things off with a 15-save performance in a thrilling 8-7 sudden-death overtime victory over Brown in their home pool. She made two incredible saves in the overtime periods, including one on a five-meter penalty shot and one in the sudden death session. Getting back into MAAC play, Thomas made four saves and five steals in three quarters while only giving up two goals. She topped that performance with five saves against Villanova while not giving up a single goal in three quarters. She made 14 saves and three steals in a 10-4 victory over St. Francis before topping off the weekend with an 11 save performance in a great 8-7 win over Iona in the Gaels’ home win.
Rookie of the Week
Caitlyn Jackson, VMI
Fr., Center Defender, Gilroy, California/Archbishop Mity
Freshman Caitlyn Jackson had one of her finest weekends of her rookie campaign, tucking away nine goals, including a six-goal effort against Siena to lead VMI into it’s first-ever overtime game. Jackson accounted for over half of VMI’s total offense in that game. She averaged three goals a game over the weekend while extending her scoring streak to a personal best eight games, averaging two and a half goals per game in that span.