April 21, 2015
LOS ANGELES - San Diego State sophomore Caroline Israels has been named the 2015 Golden Coast Conference Co-Player of the Year along with Pacific's Anna Kertes. In all, a school-record-tying five Aztecs were recognized for helping the school win its second straight GCC regular-season championship.
Hailing from Pompano Beach, Florida, Israels is SDSU's first conference player of the year since 1996, when Heather Moody earned the MPSF's award for its Southern Division. That season was the Aztecs' first as a member of any league and its second overall as a varsity sport on campus.
Israels, who landed on the all-conference first team as well, led San Diego State with 57 goals (2nd in GCC), ranked second in steals with 51 (5th in GCC) and had 17 assists. She enters the GCC tournament having scored in nine consecutive outings and 26 games total. Additionally, she has 19 multi-goal efforts, including eight hat tricks to date. This marks the first time of her career she has earned postseason recognition.
A year after being named the conference newcomer of the year and to the all-GCC first team, Ioli Benekou followed that up with another first-team effort in 2015. The sophomore defender scored 44 goals, while adding 20 assists and 50 steals. Her goals and steals totals rank second on the team behind Israels and her 20 assists were the third most among all Aztecs. She is the first two-time all-conference first-teamer, and second all-time, since Larisa Baltgalvis picked up MPSF first-team accolades in 1999 and 2000.
Goalkeeper Rachel Mitchell landed on the all-conference second team after seeing action in all 30 games for the Aztecs. The junior, who was a first-team selection in 2014, made 242 saves, assisted on three goals and had 14 steals. Entering the league tournament, Mitchell has 907 career stops, which ranks second all-time in school history behind her predecessor, Kelly Campoli, who had 1,350 from 2009-12. Mitchell is the first Aztec goalkeeper to earn a spot on an all-conference first or second team multiple times since Rachel Scott in 1996 (MPSF Southern Division Second Team) and 1997 (MPSF Southern Division First Team).
Anique Hermann completed her final regular season of her career by garnering honorable mention praise. The senior, who was a second-team all-Big West pick in 2013 and a GCC first-teamer last year, recorded 27 goals, 21 assists and 39 steals, while drawing a team-high 48 ejections. The driver also had a .342 shooting percentage, which was second among all Aztecs who played in at least 20 games.
Nikki de Roos, meanwhile, is the first SDSU player to land on the all-GCC freshman team. The Saratoga native played in 21 games, scoring twice and making eight steals. She also drew 19 ejections, which was the fourth-highest total on the team.
The five honorees are the most for San Diego State in the GCC era and ties the 1998 squad for the most in school history.
Top-seeded SDSU will look to capture its first-ever Golden Coast tournament championship this week in Stockton. The Aztecs will open tourney action on Friday at 3 p.m. PT in the semifinal round vs. either fourth-seeded Azusa Pacific or fifth-seeded California Baptist. Those two teams will play on Thursday at 3 p.m. PT. All games will stream live on the internet at PacificTigers.com.
2015 All-Golden Coast Water Polo Honors
Co-Player of the Year
Caroline Israels, SDSU (So., ATT)
Anna Kertes, PAC (Sr., ATT)
Newcomer of the Year
Alba Espinar, APU (Jr., ATT)
All-GCC First Team
Ioli Benekou, SDSU (So., 2MD)
Ivana Castro, LMU (Jr., UTL)
Hannah Evans, CBU (Jr., 2M)
Caroline Israels, SDSU (So., ATT)
Anna Kertes, PAC (Sr., ATT)
Julia Peters, SCU (Sr., UTL)
Michele Relton, PAC (Sr., GK)
All-GCC Second Team
Taylor Adair, PAC (Sr., ATT)
Mackenzie Beck, LMU (Sr., UTL)
Laura Lopez, LMU (Sr., DR)
Rachel Mitchell, SDSU (Jr., GK)
Mallory Montano, CBU (Sr., UTL)
Gracie Smith, PAC (Sr., CTR)
Taylor Whitney, APU (Sr., CTR)
Honorable Mention All-GCC
Elizabeth Anderson, SCU (Jr., 2M)
Alba Espinar, APU (Jr., ATT)
Kelsey Harvey, FPU (Sr., GK)
Anique Hermann, SDSU (Sr., ATT)
Emily Marr, FPU (Jr., UTL)
Meghan Rowland, CBU (Jr., GK)
All-GCC Freshman Team
Nikki de Roos, SDSU (Fr., UTL)
Britt Harris, APU (Fr., ATT)
Karolina Hlavata, PAC (Fr., ATT)
Emily Knowles, FPU (Fr., CTR)
Rachel Krieger, PAC (Fr., DEF)
Arianna St. Oegger, LMU (Fr., ULT)