Four Women of Troy Earn All-MPSF Honors
April 30, 2008 | Women's Water Polo
April 30, 2008
The USC women's water polo team has landed four fresh faces on All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Teams this year, led by two first-time selections to the All-MPSF First Team in senior Veronika Bartunkova and sophomore Tumua Anae. USC's second leading scorer and top goalie, respectively, have had hugely important seasons for the Women of Troy this year, and their contributions have earned the pair top honors by the conference. Senior Miranda Nichols also has earned her highest career honor from the MPSF, tabbed on the All-MPSF Second Team as one of the league's top defenders. And rounding out the field of Trojan honorees is freshman Kristen Dronberger, a powerful addition to USC's two-meter slot who has earned a place on the MPSF All-Freshman Team in her first year at Troy.
Anae and Bartunkova also were recently named to the 2008 MPSF All-Tournament Team following USC's second-place finish at the tournament. Bartunkova scored five goals in USC's three games, and Anae racked up 32 saves including a 14-save performance against UCLA in the final.
Tumua Anae (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) stands out as the MPSF's top starting goalie, boasting an average of just 4.7 goals-against per game and coming off a career-high 14-save performance in the MPSF Championship game. Anae averages 9.1 saves per game for the Trojans and was named MPSF Mikasa Player of the Week in March after posting 21 saves in just over 21 periods of play for USC.
Senior driver Veronika Bartunkova (Strakonice, Czech Republic) has eclipsed her previous season-best scoring with a whopping 44 goals so far this season to stand as USC's second leading scorer this year and carry an even 100 career goals into the upcoming NCAA Tournament. She earned her first career selection as MPSF Mikasa Player of the Week in March after notching a new career high of five goals in one game. Her first-team selection this year is the first All-MPSF honor for Bartunkova.
Earning her first All-MPSF accolades since All-Freshman honors in 2005 is senior driver Miranda Nichols (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara HS), who also stands out as one of the top defenders in the conference. In addition to her defensive duties for the Trojans, Nichols has provided 25 goals to hold a career total of 84 as she turns to make her fourth trip to the NCAA Championships with the Women of Troy.
In her first year at Troy, two-meter player Kristen Dronberger (Sacramento, Calif./Rio Americano HS) has made an instant impact at set for the Trojans. With 18 goals this season, Dronberger has secured her selection to the MPSF All-Freshman Team.
USC is now setting up to make its fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, having earned the No. 3 seed into the action to open against No. 6 seed Michigan in the opening round. The tournament will run May 9-11 at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center.
