Ann Arbor, MI – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season and tournament champions will take on Salem University in the NCAA Tournament opening-round game on Wednesday afternoon from the University of Michigan.
Seven In Nine Years
Wagner captured its seventh MAAC championship in the last nine seasons with a convincing 18-7 victory over LIU on Sunday, April 24.
The Seahawks captured a league-best 10th championship with a quick start as the Seahawks outscored the Sharks 3-0 in the opening 3:38 of the contest. Senior
Sofia Diaz Alvarez tallied the opening goal as sophomore
Mar Navarro continued the run with two goals before LIU called a timeout. Following the timeout, LIU responded with a goal to cut the Wagner lead to 3-1 before sophomore
Andrea Arias and junior
Skye Nankervis gave Wagner a 5-1 lead after the opening stanza.
The Seahawks carried its momentum into the second quarter as they outscored LIU 5-1 in the second eight minutes.
Skye Nankervis opened the scoring shortly after winning her second of three sprints in the contest. Following the goal from Nankervis,
Andrea Arias tallied her second goal before Nankervis completed her hat trick.
Mar Navarro and fifth year senior
Malia Josephson rounded out the scorers for Wagner in the second stanza.
With a 10-2 lead heading into the second half, Wagner outscored LIU 4-2 behind two goals from junior
Abbey Simshauser, senior
Pip Nash and freshman
Carlota Alonso.
Wagner outscored LIU 4-3 in the final stanza as Mali Josephson,
Sofia Diaz Alvarez,
Abbey Simshauser, and
Mar Navarro each tallied goals.
Mar Navarro was named MVP as she tallied four goals and five assists in the championship game. Skey Nankervis tallied two goals on four shots to go along with two steals. Senior goalkeeper
Kristina Bell stopped 10 out of 16 shots faced in the contest.
Malia Josephson,
Mar Navarro, and
Kristina Bell were named to the All-Tournament team.
Historic Season
From January 29 to March 2, the Seahawks won 15 consecutive games which matched the second longest winning streak in program history as Wagner won 17 consecutive games in 2017 and 2018.
The Green & White concluded the regular season with a 15-game winning streak from March 12 to April 16 and have never had multiple winning streaks of double-digit victories in a single season in program history until this season.
Wagner began the season 2-2 through the first four games of the season and proceeded to launch a 30-1 record in the final 31 games of the regular season, all of the Wagner losses came against nationally ranked opponents.
The Seahawks tallied the highest goals per game average in the history of the MAAC with 16.6 goals per game in a single season and tallied the second most goals in a single season in conference history with 582. The 2019 Seahawks scored the most goals as they found the back of the net 615 times.
The victory over St. Francis Brooklyn on Friday, April 15 gave Wagner 31 victories in the regular season, the most in program history as the 2019 Seahawks captured 30 victories.
With two victories in the MAAC Tournament, Wagner matched its longest winning streak in program history with 17.
Abbey Simshauser Named Co-Offensive Player of The Year, Ciaran Wolohan Coach of the Year
Abbey Simshauser was named MAAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year while head coach
Ciaran Wolohan was tabbed as the Coach of the Year as six members of the #13 Wagner women's water polo team earned All-Conference honors, the conference announced on Friday, April 22.
Along with being named Co-Offensive Player of the Year,
Abbey Simshauser also earned First Team All-MAAC honors. Senior's
Sofia Diaz Alvarez and
Kristina Bell, sophomore's
Mar Navarro and
Andrea Arias, and fifth year senior
Malia Josephson all earned Second Team All-MAAC honors as they rounded out the individual player honors for the regular season champions.
This is the third time the Seahawks have won Offensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year in the same season and six All-Conference members is a program record.
Head coach
Ciaran Wolohan earned his first career Coach of the Year honor at the helm of the Seahawks, the Wagner graduate guided the Seahawks to a 32-3 regular season, a MAAC title and a perfect 18-0 mark in conference play while compiling two 15-game winning streaks in the process.
Wolohan becomes the fourth coach to earn Coach of the Year honors as Chris Radmonovich claimed this honor three times from 2013-2018. Patrick Beemer and Aaron Cavagnolo round out the other coaches to win the award. Since taking over for Chris Radmonovich in before the 2020 season, Wolohan is sporting a 46-8 record and is unbeaten in MAAC contests.
Abbey Simshauser becomes the sixth Seahawk to win Offensive Player of the Year as she joins Erica Hardy, Kimberly Watson, Jessica Lundgren, Chelsea Beck, and Billy Hoelck. Watson and Lundgren claimed the award twice. The Sydney, Australia finished the regular season with 90 goals on 173 shots, 52 assists, 142 points, a .520 shooting percentage, 54 exclusions, and 46 steals in 34 games played.
Sofia Diaz Alvarez picks up her third All-MAAC honor of her career as the senior was named MAAC Rookie of the Year in 2019 and was named to the First Team the same season. The Madrid, Spain native played in all 35 games this season while scoring 80 goals on 175 shots, dished out 48 assists and tallied 128 points. Diaz Alvarez tallied 51 steals and finished the regular season with a .457 shot percentage.
In her first season as a Seahawk,
Kristina Bell earns All-Conference honors after claiming seven Defensive Player of the Week honors, the most in program history in a single season. The Atascadero, CA native started 32 out of 35 games while sporting a 29-3 record. Bell stopped 224 out of 433 shots for a .517 save percentage.
Malia Josephson claims her first All-Conference honor in her fifth season on Grymes Hill, Josephson lead the team with 158 points in 35 games while scoring 76 goals and dishing out a team-leading 82 assists. The Mount Maunganui, New Zealand native tallied 33 steals and drew 33 exclusions.
Andrea Arias led the Seahawks with 98 goals on 177 shots to go along with a .554 save percentage. In her first season on Grymes Hill, the Madrid, Spain native tallied 125 points, 27 assists, 47 drawn exclusions and 32 steals.
In her first season on Grymes Hill,
Mar Navarro claimed her first All-Conference honor after starting all 35 games and scoring 57 goals on 109 shots. The Barcelona, Spain native finished the regular season with 60 assists, 117 points, and a .523 shooting percentage.
About The NCAA Tournament
The Seahawks will take place in the opening-round game on Wednesday, May 4 and the winner of the opening-round game will take on the top seeded Stanford Cardinal on Friday, May 6.
The teams rounding out the bracket include UCLA, UC Irvine, USC, Fresno State, California, and the hosts Michigan.
Last Season, USC defeated UCLA in the NCAA title game 18-9. Stanford and USC have shared the national crown since 2010 as the Trojans have won five titles while the Cardinal have captured six. The last team other than Stanford or USC to win the national championship was UCLA when they rattled off five consecutive titles from 2005-2009. These three programs are the only three to ever capture the national crown.
Wagner In The Tournament
The Seahawks are 2-6 lifetime in the NCAA Tournament, with both victories coming over UC San Diego in 2017 and 2018.
Wagner has competed in every NCAA Tournament since 2014 outside of 2021.
Four members of the current Seahawks have participated in the NCAA field, senior's
Mikaela Wells,
Pip Nash,
Sofia Diaz Alvarez, and
Malia Josephson were all on the 2019 Seahawks, the last time Wagner earned a bid.
About Salem
Out of the Western Water Polo Association, Salem ended the season with an 18-15 overall record and defeated California State East Bay 11-10 in sudden death overtime in the conference tournament on Sunday, April 24.
This is the second time these two programs will square off and the first in postseason play as Wagner defeated Salem 20-3 on Sunday, March 3, 2019.
What's Next
The winner of the opening-round contest will take on Stanford in the first round of the tournament on Friday, May 6.
