The postseason accolades just keep washing in for the Pepperdine Waves men’s water polo team.Â
Five Waves were named to the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches’ All-America list on Dec. 17. This came four days after Pepperdine head coach Terry Schroeder was named the Golden Coast Conference Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons and seven days after two players were selected for NCAA All-Tournament team.Â
The quintet of Pepperdine All-Americans includes sophomore Balazs Kosa and seniors Marko Asic, Chris Dilworth, Sean Thomas and Mate Toth. Kosa, an attacker, and center Dilworth were placed on the All-American second team and utility player and attacker Asic, two-meter defender Thomas and center back Toth were named honorable mention All-Americans. The Waves were among a group of 64 players from 22 universities that were recognized as the best water polo players in college.Â
The number of Pepperdine players selected only trailed the University of California-Santa Barbara’s seven and the University of Southern California’s six.Â
This is the second year in a row that Kosa and Dilworth received All-American status. Kosa led the Golden Coast Conference with 93 goals, 47 assists and 140 total points.Â
Kosa also averaged a drop under three goals a game in the last nine contests of the season. He had seven goals in the two NCAA Tournament games and was tapped for the event’s All-Tournament team.Â
Dilworth, the other Wave named to the All-Tournament team, posted 47 goals this season, third among the Waves, and led the GCC with 64 ejections drawn. Dilworth rang up six goals in Pepperdine’s NCAA win over UC Davis.Â
Asic is the third Pepperdine player ever to earn four All-American recognitions in their career. His 58 goals placed him second on the Waves and he finished his career as the fourth-leading goal scorer in Pepperdine history. He scored his 240th goal, which put him ahead of his father Pero on the Waves all-time goal rankings, during the NCAA Tournament.Â
Toth and Thomas are both first-time All-American honors recipients. Toth scored 38 goals this season and Thomas scored 30 goals and tallied 20 assists. Thomas also led Pepperdine with 32 steals.Â
The Waves concluded their season in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament with a 25-8 regard and No. 4 ranking nationally.
