2008 Olympian JW Krumpholz Earns Back-To-Back NCAA National Player of the Year Honors
2/2/2010 12:00:00 AM
courtesy USC Sports Information
Los Angeles, CA - February 2 - Keeping in line with USC’s first-ever back-to-back NCAA championships, USC senior J.W. Krumpholz has picked up his second honor as the National Player of the Year. It’s the first time a Trojan has achieved such a feat, as Krumpholz leads a group of seven USC players to be named All-Americans, with head coach Jovan Vavic earning his seventh career honor as National Coach of the Year – including the 2008 award for his own back-to-back acclaim. Krumpholz winds down his USC career as a four-time All-American. He is joined on this year’s First Team by fellow senior Shea Buckner, with senior Jordan Thompson named to the All-American Second Team, and four Trojans – seniors Anthony Artukovich, Justin Rappel and Matt Sagehorn and sophomores Joel Dennerley and Peter Kurzeka – earning All-American Honorable Mention. USC’s eight All-American selections mark the most ever in a season for the Trojans in program history.
J.W. Krumpholz picked up All-America honorable mention and third team honors in his first two seasons as a Trojan before claiming back-to-back first team and National Player of the Year selections. He wraps up his final year at USC with 138 career goals to rank No. 11 all-time at USC. In addition to being a 2008 Olympic silver medalist, Krumpholz was the Peter J. Cutino Award winner in 2008 before helping lead the Trojans to back-to-back NCAA championships with their 2009 victory over UCLA. Krumpholz scored 37 goals in his senior season and closes out his career as a three-time NCAA All-Tournament first team selection and a three-time All-MPSF pick, earning third team honors in 2007 and first team accolades in 2008 and 2009. He is the fourth Trojan to be named National Player of the Year and first to earn the honor twice.
Head coach Jovan Vavic now has his seventh selection as National Coach of the Year – five of which have now come on the men’s side. With USC’s 26-2 record in 2009, Vavic improves his career record with the Trojan men to 339-59 (.852) and still maintains a winning record against all opponents as head coach of the Trojans. He was the National Co-Coach of the Year in 1998 and has since won the men’s National Coach of the Year in 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2009 after each of USC’s NCAA championship runs.
Krumpholz was joined by a large group of graduating seniors on the USC roster this season. Four other Trojan seniors have earned All-America status for 2009, including three-time All-American and two-time first-teamer Shea Buckner, who joins Krumpholz as a first-team selection. Buckner led USC in scoring in 2009 with 44 goals and was an All-MPSF Second Team selection for his third career All-MPSF honor. After three seasons with the Trojans, Buckner has a place at No. 21 all-time in scoring with 110 career goals.
Earning his first career All-American honor is senior Jordan Thompson, who snagged a place on the All-America Second Team with a powerful senior season for the Trojans. Named the NCAA Tournament MVP, Thompson scored four goals during the NCAA Tournament to finish the year with 30 goals – more than double his previous best single-season output as a Trojan. Thompson finishes his USC career with 64 career goals and accolades as a 2009 All-MPSF honorable mention recipient.
For senior Matt Sagehorn, this year’s All-America honors are his third as a Trojan. Sagehorn was a second-team selection in 2007 and 2008, and has garnered All-American Honorable Mention for 2009. Sagehorn came on strong again for USC late in the year, scoring five goals in USC’s final three games to finish up the year with 27 goals. That gives Sagehorn a spot at No. 14 all-time on USC’s scoring charts with 127 career goals. Sagehorn earned All-MPSF Second Team honors this season for his third straight year with all-conference accolades.
Fellow senior Justin Rappel was USC’s second leading scorer in 2009, just a step behind Buckner with 42 goals to run his career count up to 101 for a spot at No. 25 all-time at USC. The lefty’s powerful knack for scoring helped him earn All-American Honorable Mention as a junior as well, and this season’s efforts helped the senior to All-MPSF Second Team honors as well as this latest All-American Honorable Mention pick.
Picking up his first career selection as an All-American is honorable mention honoree Anthony Artukovich, who has battled injuries in past season but remained one of USC’s most reliable players in the water. Artukovich scored some big goals for the Trojans in his senior season, finishing the year with 13 goals as he helped USC work its way to back-to-back national championships. He finishes his USC career with 47 goals to go along with his All-American honor.
Two sophomores also weigh in on the All-American list for the Trojans, with well-deserved All-American Honorable Mention going to Joel Dennerley and Peter Kurzeka. It’s Dennerley’s second All-American honor, as the goalie was a Second Team pick in 2008. This season, Dennerley manned the cage to the tune of another best-in-the-nation defensive effort by the Trojans. Dennerley averaged 6.9 saves per game and allowed a stingy 4.8 goals-against per game. He was an All-MPSF Honorable Mention recipient this season as well, capping up in all 28 games for the Trojans in his sophomore season. Kurzeka now has his first career All-American honor in joining Dennerley, Sagehorn and Rappel with 2009 Honorable Mention. Although overlooked for All-MPSF honors this year, he scored two crucial goals for the Trojans in their NCAA championship win over UCLA, running up his sophomore season scoring total to 29 goals.
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