July 23, 2008
SAN DIEGO - Three San Diego State water polo student-athletes, seniors Becca Ur and Heather Fenske and junior transfer Katie Bentley have been named to the 2008 Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Women's All-Academic Team. The awards are broken up into three teams by grade-point average (GPA), outstanding (3.71-4.00), superior (3.41-3.70) and excellent (3.20-3.40).
Ur (Lompoc, Calif.) became the first Aztec to receive superior team honors four years in a row with a GPA of 3.69 in biology. The utility player leaves The Mesa ranked among San Diego State's career leaders in ejections drawn (second, 250) and assists (eighth, 83). In her final three seasons, Ur made 111 consecutive starts, including 38 during the 2008 campaign in which she posted a team-best 59 assists and 54 steals. The two-time co-captain also earned academic all-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors and was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII women's at-large second team earlier in the year.
Fenske, meanwhile, notched her second straight superior team honor after achieving a 3.59 GPA in business management. In her first year as the Aztecs' starting goalkeeper, the Lompoc, Calif., native turned away 332 shots, which ranks third on SDSU's single-season charts. She notched 15 double-digit save games, including a career-high 16 blocks against Cal State Bakersfield (March 16), and finished her career on The Mesa ranked fourth all-time with 407 career saves. Fenske was also named to the MPSF all-academic team earlier this year.
In addition to Ur and Fenske, Bentley (Poway, Calif.) became a first-time honoree as she was also named to the superior team with a 3.56 grade-point average in biology. The backup goalkeeper appeared in eight games and made 49 saves while only allowing 17 goals (2.13 goals against average). Bentley recorded a season-high eight stops against George Washington on Feb. 17.
San Diego State finished the 2008 campaign with a program best 31-7 record, its third straight 20-plus victory season (11th overall), and a fifth-place finish at the National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship.