Long Beach State University Athletics
Senior Eirini Patras, sophomore Orsi Hertzka and junior Elena Kotanchyan all earn All-America honors.
Three Beach Athletes Earn All-America Honors
4/27/2020 4:43:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
Long Beach State women's water polo has three athletes earn All-American honors.
Long Beach, Calif. — The Collegiate Water Polo Association announced the 2020 All-America Teams on Monday and three Beach athletes were recognized for their performance this season.
Senior Eirini Patras and sophomore Orsi Hertzka both landed on the All-America Third Team, while junior Elena Kotanchyan earned an honorable mention nod. This year marks the first time Long Beach State has had three All-American honorees since 2013.
"Congratulations to these three student-athletes for this much deserved honor," Associate Head Coach Shana Welch said. "Eirini, Orsi and Lena are the perfect representation of what Long Beach State women's Water polo stands for. Through their work ethic, grit and determination they pushed our entire team to be their best on a daily basis. They led by example this season and day in and day out worked hard to help the team rise to new levels."
This marked the second straight year Hertzka was recognized for her performance in the pool. In 17 games, Hertzka scored 41 goals on 71 shots with a .577 shooting percentage. The sophomore averaged 2.4 goals per game. On Feb. 29, Hertzka scored seven goals against St. Francis to tie a program record.
In the cage, Patras continued her stellar play in the cage for the Beach. In 14 starts, Patras went 9-5 and had 118 saves on the season to average 8.4 saves per contest. Patras had a season-high 14 saves on Feb. 23 against San Diego State. Patras was also named the Big West Player of the Week on March 11 after the Beach picked up a Big West win over then-No. 10 UC San Diego. In the contest Patras had eight saves and three steals.
In her first season with the Beach junior Elena Kotanchyan made an immediate impact for the Beach. In 18 contests, Kotanchyan scored led the team with 54 goals and averaged three goals per contest. Kotanchyan was named the Big West Player of the Week on March 4 after a strong outing at the Wolverine Invitational. Over that weekend, Kotanchyan scored 19 goals and hit the seven-goal mark twice to tie a program record against St. Francis (Pa.) and then-No. 22 Bucknell University.
"We look forward to building on their success in the seasons to come and wish Eirini the best in her future endeavors," Welch said.
Senior Eirini Patras and sophomore Orsi Hertzka both landed on the All-America Third Team, while junior Elena Kotanchyan earned an honorable mention nod. This year marks the first time Long Beach State has had three All-American honorees since 2013.
"Congratulations to these three student-athletes for this much deserved honor," Associate Head Coach Shana Welch said. "Eirini, Orsi and Lena are the perfect representation of what Long Beach State women's Water polo stands for. Through their work ethic, grit and determination they pushed our entire team to be their best on a daily basis. They led by example this season and day in and day out worked hard to help the team rise to new levels."
This marked the second straight year Hertzka was recognized for her performance in the pool. In 17 games, Hertzka scored 41 goals on 71 shots with a .577 shooting percentage. The sophomore averaged 2.4 goals per game. On Feb. 29, Hertzka scored seven goals against St. Francis to tie a program record.
In the cage, Patras continued her stellar play in the cage for the Beach. In 14 starts, Patras went 9-5 and had 118 saves on the season to average 8.4 saves per contest. Patras had a season-high 14 saves on Feb. 23 against San Diego State. Patras was also named the Big West Player of the Week on March 11 after the Beach picked up a Big West win over then-No. 10 UC San Diego. In the contest Patras had eight saves and three steals.
In her first season with the Beach junior Elena Kotanchyan made an immediate impact for the Beach. In 18 contests, Kotanchyan scored led the team with 54 goals and averaged three goals per contest. Kotanchyan was named the Big West Player of the Week on March 4 after a strong outing at the Wolverine Invitational. Over that weekend, Kotanchyan scored 19 goals and hit the seven-goal mark twice to tie a program record against St. Francis (Pa.) and then-No. 22 Bucknell University.
"We look forward to building on their success in the seasons to come and wish Eirini the best in her future endeavors," Welch said.
Players Mentioned
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