Bridgeport, Pa.----- For the second consecutive year, the San Jose State University men's water polo team set a school record for the number of team members earning an Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) national academic award.
For the 2019 season, 15 Spartans, four more than in 2018, were recognized as All-Academic scholar-athletes for maintaining a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or higher on a 4.00 scale.
The 15 San Jose State award winners account for 62.5 percent of the team of 24 student-athletes.
"We are so proud of our players' academic success, which is corresponding with our improved athletic success. Their achievements in the classroom demonstrate their commitment and hard work in and out of the pool," said Bruce Watson, San Jose State University's men's water polo head coach. "The increased number of award winners bodes well for the their careers and the future success of our water polo program."
San Jose State had the most award winners in its conference, the six-team Golden Coast Conference and ranked tied for third nationally with Harvard, Princeton and Wagner each with 15 award winners, too. Brown, an Ivy League school like Princeton and Harvard, was first with 18. Pomona-Pitzer Colleges was second with 16.
The Spartans also ranked 14th nationally in team grade-point average for the second consecutive year with a 3.32 figure, an improvement over the 3.21 team grade-point average reported a year ago. Thirty-five of the 49 schools that sponsor NCAA men's water polo had a team grade-point average of 3.00 or higher.
Seniors Marc Weber and Ashley Castle earned their fourth award. Seniors Justin Pickering and Cristian Tanase and sophomores Neil Arnett, Adam Bado, Yahav Fire, Niels Hofmeijer, Utku Karhan, and Emerson Trout are two-time award winners. Brad Dennis, Ethan Koch, Nick Marchione, Harry Nixon, and Finn Pardon earned their first ACWPC academic award.
Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Men's Academic Awards (2015-2019)
| Student-Athlete | Years |
| Neil Arnett | 2018, 2019 |
| Adam Bado | 2018, 2019 |
| Ashley Castle | 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| Alek Dendall | 2015, 2016 |
| Brad Dennis | 2019 |
| Yahav Fire | 2018, 2019 |
| Conrad Gordon | 2017 |
| Niels Hofmeijer | 2018, 2019 |
| Tyler Jamieson | 2015, 2016 |
| Utku Karhan | 2018, 2019 |
| Ethan Koch | 2019 |
| Giacomo Lovatelli | 2017 |
| Nicholas Marchione | 2019 |
| Jacob Mercep | 2017 |
| John Moon | 2015, 2016 |
| Collin Murphy | 2018 |
| Harry Nixon | 2019 |
| Finn Pardon | 2019 |
| Justin Pickering | 2018, 2019 |
| Zachary Scudder | 2015 |
| Nicholas Serratos | 2015 |
| Conor Shuey | 2016 |
| Ivan Stefanovic | 2016 |
| Cristian Tanase | 2018, 2019 |
| Emerson Trout | 2018, 2019 |
| Marc Weber | 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 |