June 15, 2006
DAVIS, Calif. - Three members of the UC Davis women's water polo team have earned themselves a place on the 2006 Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches' All-Academic team it was announced by executive director Mike Lewis on Thursday. Sophomore Casie Mota, junior Amber Korner and senior Jessi Lafayette were honored for their work in the classroom as well as in the pool. This was the second year that Lafayette and Mota have received this honor.
Selection to the ACWPC All-Academic teams requires that a student-athlete has a 3.20 grade-point average or higher and is a starter or key reserve on the team. The All-Academic team has three different merit levels which the athletes can be awarded: outstanding, superior and excellent.
Mota, an attacker from Long Beach, Calif., received a superior ranking and had the highest GPA for the Aggie honorees with a 3.66. Mota was second of the team for goals this season with 41 and she set a school record for the best shooting percentage in a single season, .621. She was the first Aggie in program history to shoot above .600 in a season.
Korner, a goalkeeper and neurobiology, physiology and behavior major from Hawthorne, Calif., received excellent merits. Korner led UC Davis with 121 saves this season among 19 games started. Korner posted a career-high 13 saves against Loyola Marymount on March 29.
Lafayette, an attacker and organizational studies major from Los Angeles, Calif., also earned excellent merits. Lafayette was a team co-captain that posted 10 goals on the season and was second on the team in assists with 30 total. Lafayette ended her career at UC Davis ranked third in the record books for assists in a season and third for career assists with 58.
UC Davis was ranked 26th overall for its team grade-point average. The Aggies were one of three top-10 teams to be honored for their academic achievements as a team.
The Aggies ended the 2006 season with a fifth-place finish in their first NCAA Championship appearance. They earned a season record of 22-12, marking their tenth straight winning season and the eighth consecutive season that the Aggies have posted 20 or more wins.
