Mercyhurst men’s water polo players Philip Jenny and Daniel Alvarez were named to the 2018 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) West Region Championship All-Tournament First-Team early this month.

The acknowledgments come after both players’ performances at the Collegiate Water Polo Association Western Championship tournament, which was held at the Prep Villa Event Center in Erie over the weekend of Nov 3-4.

During the tournament, Jenny scored five goals on 12 shots, tallied four assists, and had eight steals over the course of three games. Alvarez scored two goals on 10 shots, tallied two assists and had five steals. For both the Water Polo All-Conference First Team and All-Conference Second Team, the top players are nominated by the seven head coaches from MAWPC-West universities.

Twelve field players, two goalies, a Most Valuable Player, a Rookie of the Year and a Coach of the Year were selected based on their performance throughout the 2018 season. Jenny and Alvarez were joined by players from McKendree University, Gannon University and Salem University in being named to the First Team.

“I wasn’t expecting it at all, and I am very honored to be recognized in such a manner,” Jenny said, a senior Athletic Training major from Lawrenceville, Georgia. “I had such great support from my teammates this season, and I cannot be more thankful.”

Due to competition among water polo teams having increased over the past few years, Mercyhurst’s men’s water polo team did not make it as far in the season as Jenny would have hoped, but he has confidence in their success next year. “The group underneath the seniors has a whole lot of potential and I hope they run with it. There should definitely be some more All Conference picks next year, and I can’t wait to see how they do,” Jenny said. Jenny said he was “thankful for the opportunity to play four years here at Mercyhurst.”

“Coming here has brought more opportunities than I could have thought,” he said. Alvarez is a senior from Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Alvarez was named to the MAWPC All Conference team in 2017, and led the team in scoring for that season with 53 points.

The Lakers went 13-11 for the season and were 4-2 for the MAWPC.