FRESNO, Calif. – The McKendree University women's water polo team had three players selected to the 2022 Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) All-Conference Team on Thursday on the eve of the WWPA Championship Tournament hosted by Fresno Pacific University and held at the Fresno State Aquatics Center.
 
This year's WWPA All-Conference Team was voted on by the conference coaches and features a total of 14 players across three teams and features an All-Freshman Team, along with a Player and Newcomer of the Year.
 
Senior center Abigail Burton (Chino, Calif./Chino) was tabbed a First-Team selection, while graduate student utility player Jaleh Moaddeli (Newport Beach, Calif./GWU) and freshman goalie Sydney Kane (Bradley, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) were tabbed Honorable Mention selections. In addition, Kane was one of the nine players named to the All-Freshman Team.
 
Burton earns First-Team All-WWPA honors after scoring a total of 43 goals and added four assists for a total of 47 points. Additionally, she led the team in shots with 69 and had 12 exclusions and 13 steals. She scored three or more goals in eight games, including a season-high seven goals against Mercyhurst on April 9. Burton was 10th in the league in goals.
 
Moaddeli earns Honorable Mention All-WWPA honors after scoring a total of 21 goals and added nine assists for 30 points. She also took 29 shots, had three exclusions, 11 steals and was 13-for-14 on sprints. She scored two or more goals in a game six times, including tallying seven goals against Mercyhurst on April 9. Her 13 sprint wins were seventh-best in the league.
 
Kane earns both Honorable Mention All-WWPA and All-Freshman Team honors after recording 98 saves, picking up six assists and 12 steals and played 352 minutes on the year and had 9.55 goals allowed average and a 48.3 save percentage. Her 98 saves was sixth-best in the league.
 
In the league's individual awards, Cal State-East Bay's Adrien Van Dyke was named the Player of the Year, while Biola's Veralie Naranjo was named the Newcomer of the Year.
 
Cal State-East Bay led the way with five overall selections, while Biola and Salem University each had four selections and McKendree had three selections. The only other school to have multiple All-Conference selection was Cal State-Monterey Bay.
 
McKendree's threesome of WWPA All-Conference performers and the rest of the Bearcats, who are sporting a 15-5 overall record and finished second in the WWPA East Division with a 4-2 record, open play in the WWPA Championship Tournament on Friday, April 22 against Cal State-Monterey Bay, who is the No. 3 seeded from the West Division.
 
2022 WWPA All-Conference Teams
First-Team
Adrien Van Dyke, Cal State-East Bay
Hanna Jordan, Biola
Annefluer ten Bloemendal, Salem University
Amy Zaninovich, Fresno Pacific
Auriel Bill, Cal State-East Bay
Abigail Burton, McKendree
Dani Passoni, Cal State-East Bay
Second-Team
Nicole Wiemken, Gannon University
Olivia Centis, Cal State-Monterey Bay
Chloe Woodbine, Salem University
Kourtney Pyle, Biola
Rachel Spadt, Biola
Kaitlin Rooney, Cal State-Monterey Bay
Philippa Piper, Salem
Honorable Mention
Maria Gonzalez, Biola
Leti Mosqueda, Cal State-East Bay
Jaleh Moaddeli, McKendree
Luna Sarmiento, Cal State-East Bay
Hanna Good, Mercyhurst
Margherita Garibbo, Salem
Sydney Kane, McKendree
All-Freshman Team
Luna Sarmiento, Cal State-East Bay
Veralie Naranjo, Biola
Natlie Kisling, Fresno Pacific
Jade Strickland, Gannon University
Elizabeth Birch, Biola
Bailey Barlow, Cal State-East Bay
Shelby Fortune, Cal State-Monterey Bay
Emma Halle, Salem University
Sydney Kane, McKendree
 
Player of the Year: Adrien Van Dyke, CSU-East Bay
Newcomer of the Year: Veralie Naranjo, Biola
 
2022 WWPA Championship Tournament
April 22-24 @Fresno, Calif. (Fresno State Aquatics Center)
April 22
Game 1: #1W Cal State-East Bay vs. #4E Mercyhurst, 9 a.m. PT
Game 2: #2E McKendree vs. #3W Cal State-Monterey Bay, 10:45 a.m. PT
Game 3: #2W Biola vs. #3E Gannon (Pa.) University, 12:30 p.m. PT
Game 4: #1E Salem (W.Va.) vs. #4W Fresno Pacific, 2:15 p.m. PT
April 23
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 9 a.m. PT
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 10:45 a.m. PT
Game 7: (Semifinal 1): Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 12:30 p.m. PT
Game 8: (Semifinal 2): Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 2:15 p.m. PT
April 24
7th Place – Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 8 a.m. PT
5th Place – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 9:45 a.m. PT
3rd Place – Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 11:30 a.m. PT
1st Place – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 1:15 p.m. PT