DAVIS, Calif. -- The reigning Western Water Polo Association champions proved their mettle in the pool, now the Aggies are showing what they're made of in the classroom as eight members of the UC Davis men's water polo team were honored as part of the WWPA's All-Academic Team for 2021 on Friday.

The eight honorees are the most since the 2019 squad had 10 members of that squad named to the league's academic honor roll.

Seven of the eight honorees were named to the all-academic team for the first time in their careers in junior Logan Anderson, sophomore Aleix Aznar Beltran, junior Duncan Creed, sophomore Will Nomura, senior Connor Norton, senior Spencer Towill, and sophomore Aaron Voggenthaler. Meanwhile, senior Nir Gross picked up his third career all-academic honor to go with awards in 2018 and 2019.

This group of Aggies is part of an honor roll that includes a total of 93 student-athletes from the conference's nine members. To be eligible for WWPA All-Academic honors, a player must have competed in at least 50 percent of his team's contests during the current season, carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or better, be classified as a full-time student for all terms of attendance, and have completed a minimum of one semester or two quarters at his institution.

UC Davis wrapped up one of its most successful seasons to date in 2021, finishing the year with a 19-9 overall record and a 7-1 mark in WWPA play while claiming the program's sixth conference title in school history -- and the fourth in the last six years.

The Aggies finished the 2021 season ranked No. 5 in the final Collegiate Water Polo Association poll marking the fifth time in the last six years that the program has finished in the top 10 and believed to be the highest the program has reached in the national polls since 2001, besting a No. 6 ranking during the 2006 regular season.

UC Davis made its eighth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the semifinals after an opening round win over Long Beach State in overtime before falling to top-ranked USC. The Aggies finished tied for third in the nation for the second time in program history and the first since the 1996 squad fell to UCLA, but defeated UMass in the third-place match.

Individually, Gross was named a second-team All-American for the second time in his career, picking up WWPA Player of the Year and NCAA All-Tournament Team honors, while teammates Logan Anderson and Aaron Wilson were named honorable mention All-Americans.

The three awards gave UC Davis a trio of All-Americans in the same season for the first time since 2015, while Gross became the sixth Aggie since 1999 to pick up multiple All-America honors in a career. 

Head Coach Daniel Leyson was named the WWPA Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career, while Wilson (second team), Anderson (second team), and Aleix Aznar Beltran (honorable mention), joined Gross on the WWPA honor roll. Aznar Beltran also earned a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament team along with Gross.

2021 WESTERN WATER POLO ASSOCIATION ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
(UC Davis honorees only)

Logan Anderson, Jr., Psychology
Aleix Aznar Beltran, So., Managerial Economics
Duncan Creed, R-Jr., Animal Science
Nir Gross, Sr., Managerial Economics
William Nomura, So., Undeclared
Connor Norton, Sr., Neurobiology
Spencer Towill, R-Sr., Managerial Economics
Aaron Voggenthaler, R-So., Communications
 

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