SAN DIEGO –Carin Crawford, San Diego State head women's water polo coach, announced the signing of five high school seniors and an international transfer to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday. The six will begin competing for the Aztecs in the 2021-22 school year.
The signees are Amanda Chambers, Klara Goldstein, Rose Kanemy, Sofia Righetti, Natalie Swank, and Kacy Wicks.
"I'm excited to welcome this talented class of recruits to SDSU," Crawford said. "It feels like we have been through a lot together already, given that we all shared some loss of opportunity to play over spring and summer. But in the process, it has been great to get to know this group, their commitment, and resilience in doing what it takes to keep training and developing. We are excited about signing such a talented class, and look forward to what we will accomplish together at SDSU."
Chambers is a 5-8, right-handed attacker out of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and will graduate from Oak Bay High School in Victoria in 2021. In the last two years, she has competed for the Edmonton Tsunami. This year she placed among the top-10 goal scorers for the U19 girls' team and was named its Most Valuable Offensive Athlete. Last year, Chambers was named to Canada's National Championship League (NCL) Tournament all-star team, reached the bronze medal game in the U16 NCL Western National Championship and finished in second place in the U19 NCL National Championships. For the league season, she ranked as the No. 41 attacker among U19 girls as well as the No. 5 attacker and No. 1 goalie among U16 girls.
"Amanda is a very driven athlete who has all the tools to become successful on the collegiate level," Crawford said. "She has a great work ethic and is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish her goals. I am most impressed by Amanda's attention to detail. She has a keen understanding of the importance of fundamental skills and has put in the work to create a strong foundation at the club level, which will make it easy for her to take the next step in her athletic development. She will be a scoring threat on the 1-2 side of our attack, and I'm excited to welcome her to SDSU."
Goldstein is a 5-8, attacker out of Redondo Beach, Calif., who will graduate from Redondo Union High School in 2021. Among her individual accomplishment at Redondo Union, following her junior season she was an All-CIF selection, a first-team All-Bay League performer, and the school's Most Outstanding Girls Water Polo player. The team earned the 2019 Lady Brahams Winter Classic title on its way to a semifinal appearance in the 2019 CIF Championship. In addition, she has led her squad to titles in the 2018 Villa Park Classic and 2017 Benson Memorial Cup. Among her Huntington Beach Water Polo Club accomplishments, she was named a USA Water Polo All-American in 2017 and since that year the team has finished in the top-3 of the 2019 Big Foot Classic (2nd place), 2018 Kap7 Cup 16U (1st), 2018 Orange County Cup 16U (1st), 2018 National Junior Olympics (NJO) Qualifying 16U (3rd), 2017 Evan Cousineau Cup 16U (2nd) and 2017 Kap7 Cup 16U (3rd).
"Klara is a versatile scorer who can post up, shoot from the perimeter and defend," Crawford said. "She is strong, aggressive, has good water polo speed as well as strong club and high school experience which has prepared her well for the Division I level."
Kanemy is a left-handed driver who is currently attending John Abbott College in Montreal, Canada. In 13 games last season, before competition was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Kanemy scored 37 goals and assisted on 20 more while competing in Water Polo Canada's National Championship League (NCL). The previous year, she was selected the captain of the Canadian Youth National Team (U17), led her squad to the silver medal in the Pan Am Games, and was named the Outstanding Amateur Athlete of the Year by the Erin Sports Association. In 2017, Kanemy was the leading scorer in the 16U NCL with 71 goals in 17 games. She was a member of the Canadian 16U National Championship team, the all-star team at the 16U Canadian Eastern Championships, the Quebec provincial team and a first alternate to the 18U Canadian National Team which competed in the World Championships.
"Rose is a talented lefty shooter who will make an immediate impact on our program," Crawford said. "She has high level experience in the Canadian club system and, after a successful summer with the youth team, was recently named to the Canadian Senior National team training program. She is an excellent shooter who will bring balance to our attack."
Righetti is a 5-10, 2-meter defender out of Kingsburg (Calif.) High School. A three-year letterwinner, she has earned first-team All-Central Sequoia League (CSL) honors, and in the last two years has served as the team captain and been named its MVP. Last year she was CSL co-MVP, a first-team All-CIF, a second-team All-Central CIF Division II designee, and second-team all-country performer. In 2018, Righetti was the CSL Offensive Player of the Year, Central CIF Division III MVP, first-team all-county, and the Central CIF Jim Coiner Sportsmanship Award winner. For her freshman campaign, in 2017, she was first-team all-county, CSL Defensive Player of the Year, and first-team Central CIF Division III. In three varsity seasons, her team has won two CSL championships (2017 & 2018), two Central Section championships (2017 & 2018) and last year finished in second place in league and third in the sectional. A member of Timberwolves Water Polo in 2018 and 2019 as well as the Royal 559 in 2017, she has competed in the Junior Olympics in the 14U, 16U and 18U divisions. In addition, as a member of the USA Water Polo ODP program, she competed for the Central ODP team 2016-2018, PACE ODP Team 2019, and is currently back with the Central ODP team for 2020.
"Sofie has all the tools," Crawford said. "She is tall, fast, aggressive and driven. We will look to her to contribute primarily as a center defender. However, with her speed and versatility, we're confident Sofie will play a big role in our future success on both sides of the ball."
Swank comes to SDSU as a 5-7 right hand attacker out of Oceanside, California's El Camino High School. A three-year letterwinner, who competed for current San Diego State assistant coach Dana Ochsner, Swank earned All-Avocado East League honors in the past two years. In 2018 the team won the Division I CIF Championship and last year claimed the title at the Rancho Bernardo Invite. Her club experience, with Carlsbad Water Polo, includes competing in the 2017 (14U) and 2018 (16U) Platinum Division at the Junior Olympics, and in 2020 has joined Seaside Water Polo (18U).
"Natalie is a local product who played for Coach Ochsner in her early high school career," Crawford said. "She is a driven athlete who has developed into a fast, agile, and lanky 1-2 side attacker. Natalie has tremendous upside and I'm looking forward to having her reunited with Coach Ochsner here at San Diego State."
A 5-7 attacker, Wicks will graduate from Clovis (Calif.) East High School in 2021. She is a three-year letterwinner in water polo, has two letters in swimming and one each in wrestling and track. In water polo, she is a two-time (2018 & 2019) All-Tri-River Athletic Conference performer and has earned inclusion on the 2017, 2018 & 2019 CIF Central Section All-Star Team. In addition, she was named Clovis East's Offensive Most Valuable Player and a first-team Division I All-CIF Central Section performer in 2019. As a wrestler, she had top-3 finishes in the 2019 Last Girls Standing (3rd place), Reno Rumble (3rd) and Gilroy MidCals (2nd). She has competed for several clubs in the past four years and among her ODP experience, has competed for the 2017 Central California Zone Development ODP Team, 2018 & 2019 Central California Zone Cadet ODP Team, and the 2020 Central California Zone Cadet ODP Team.
"Kacy is a strong center who is also a well-rounded player and holds her own on defense," Crawford said. "She has a very strong shot that is a force to be reckoned with. In high school, she took up wrestling in the off-season, which indicates her willingness to embrace the physicality of the center position. I look forward to coaching Kacy to translate those skills into her game."
The Aztecs were 9-9 overall and 3-0 in Golden Coast Conference play when the 2020 season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic and are currently in training for the 2021 season.
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