Women's Water Polo

Hudson, McKee Receive AWPCA All-America Honors

BRIDGEPORT, PA - Junior Kirsten Hudson (Wellington New Zealand/Sacred Heart) and sophomore Jessica McKee (Tustin, CA/Laguna Beach) were both recognized as honorable mention All-Americans earlier this week as the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches announced its post-season awards. Hudson receives the honor for the third time in her career to become Hartwick's only three-time recipient in program history.

The announcement marks the ninth consecutive season Hartwick water polo has had at least one representative on the All-America teams and third time the program has had two recipients in one season. Megan Thomson (2001 and 2002), Sheri Johnson (2003 and 2004), Kate Chambers (2004 and 2005), and Bronwen Knox (2005 and 2006) were all two-time honorees. Hudson has now earned the distinction in 2007, 2008, and 2009, and McKee garners the recognition for the first time in her career.

Hudson recorded one of the most impressive seasons of any player in Hartwick water polo history in 2009. She became the first player at Hartwick to break the 200-point mark in a single season, broke the career goals and points records at 'Wick, and reached the 500-point mark for her career. Further, she was named the Eastern Championship Most Valuable Player for the second time in three years and earned first team All-Tournament honors for the third straight time. A Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Northern Division First Team all-star for the third consecutive season, she earned her division's Player of the Week award four times during the 2009 season. She broke the season assist record with 77 helpers, while her 124 goals in 2009 was the second-highest single-season total in program history. Defensively, she registered 87 steals this season giving her 205 (tied for 4th all-time) for her three-year career.

McKee concluded the year with 65 goals and 44 assists for 109 points to rank second on the team in goals behind Hudson and recorded the 10th highest single-season point total in the history of the water polo program. McKee now has 119 goals and 80 assists for 199 points at Hartwick. She netted a career-best six goals on Apr. 4 of this season in a 16-6 win at Harvard. She also lit up the Crimson earlier in the year tying a career-high with five assists on Mar. 14 at Moyer Pool.