Women’s Water Polo: UCI’s Croghan, Yocum lead way

UC Irvine junior attacker Hannah Croghan and sophomore goalie Jillian Yocum were named first-team All-Big West Conference in women’s water polo.

UCI was represented on the second team by junior defender Hillary Estrada and senior center Kelsey Klatt.

Croghan led the team with 42 goals and 49 steals, and her 26 assists were second-best among her teammates. She also had 12 field blocks to help UCI finish 21-9, 6-1 in conference and earn a share of the program’s fourth Big West regular-season title.

Yocum set school records for best goals-against average (5.78), while contributing 35 steals and four assists. Her 269 saves in 2013 rank No. 2 in UCI single-season annals.

Estrada’s 41 assists led the team and she also chipped in 20 goals, 29 steals and a team-best 17 field blocks.

Klatt, a first-team honoree in 2012, had 35 goals, 20 assists, 24 steals and 13 field blocks to help the Anteaters, coached by her older brother Dan Klatt, finish with a No. 7 national ranking. The Anteaters were beaten, 5-4, in overtime by Hawaii in the conference tournament title game.

Junior Michaela Pierandozzi and freshman McKenna Mitchell received honorable mention.

Monika Eggens of Hawaii was named Player of the Year, while Samantha Murphy of UC Santa Barbara was the Freshman of the Year.

Hawaii’s Maureen Cole was named Coach of the Year.

— From staff reports