Cull Becomes Two-Time Water Polo All-American; Villa Also Honored
WASHINGTON, Pa. – For the second-straight season, Washington & Jefferson College senior Sarah Cull (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) has been selected to the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Division III Women’s All-America Team. Cull earned honorable-mention laurels for the second year in a row and is joined on the same level by sophomore teammate Catherine Villa (Poway, Calif./Poway).
Cull, a utility player, tied a career high this spring with 34 goals and finished her four-year career with 88 tallies. A First Team CWPA Division III All-Conference choice, Cull scored nine goals during the 2012 CWPA Division III Tournament to help W&J reach the championship match.
Villa, who also plays forward for the Presidents’ Empire 8 champion field hockey team during the fall, was the water polo squad’s second-leading scorer with 29 goals. The two-meter defender was a second-team CWPA Division III All-Conference honoree.
The All-America duo played a big role in helping the Presidents finish the season with a No. 10 national final ranking. W&J (11-5) tied a school record with 11 victories under first-year Head Coach Jay O’Neil. Cull and Villa also guided Washington & Jefferson to back-to-back winning seasons, the first time that has occurred in the 13-year history of varsity water polo at the college.
Alex Rodriguez of Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.) was named the NCAA Division III Coach of the Year, while Grove City’s Chelsea Johnson and Pomona-Pitzer’s Annie Oxborough-Yankus shared the National Player of the Year award.
