Women's Water Polo

Knox, Hudson Shine at FINA Championship

Courtsey: Ed Haas, CWPA

ROME, ITALY - Two of Hartwick water polo's all-time greats recently made their marks for their respective countries at the 2009 FINA World Championship in Rome, Italy. Former All-American Bronwyn Knox led her native Australia to a sixth-place finish at the event. Current 'Wick All-American Kirsten Hudson was a member of the New Zealand team.

Knox tallied four goals on four shots with an exclusion score, two from five meters and a penalty shot in 16:51 of playing time to aid Australia in a 12-11 loss to the Netherlands in the fifth-place game. She concluded the tournament with 13 goals on 24 shots as she factored against Canada (6-6 Tie), South Africa (23-2 Win), New Zealand (14-4 Win), Greece (4-3 Loss), Spain (7-5 Win) and the Netherlands.

Following a match against Canada in the opening round of pool play on July 19, Knox rattled off five goals on five shots in 18:18 against South Africa on July 21 before tallying three goals on six shots with a steal in 20:56 against New Zealand on July 25 as Australia won Group C.

She fired off three shots in 22:49 in a quarterfinal loss against Greece on July 27, and against Spain, with a berth in the fifth place game at stake, she put home one of five shots in 24:11 of field time to key the Aussies.

Knox was a two-time American Water Polo Coaches Association (AWPCA) All-America selection during her career at 'Wick. She led the nation in goals in 2006 with 127 en route to becoming a second team honoree. As a freshman, she was recognized as an honorable mention All-America following her 102-goal, 31-assist effort in 2005. She was also chosen as a first team all-Eastern Championship and all-CWPA Northern Division honoree both years as well.

Despite only playing two years at Hartwick, she ranks among the program leaders in goals (229), steals (209), total points (286) and holds the single-season records for goals (127) and steals (117).

Hudson accounted for a third of her New Zealand's offense in a 16-9 loss to China as the Kiwis finished 12th at the FINA Championship. Against China, she tallied three goals on six shots while handing out an assist in 20:25 of play to raise her stats to nine goals on 23 shots with one assist and three steals at the competition.

Overall, New Zealand finished 1-4 at the tournament against South Africa (12-5 Win), Canada (12-6 Loss), Australia (14-4 Loss), Germany (8-7 Loss) and China.

Against South Africa in the first game of pool play, she fired three shots and recorded a steal in 20:02 of field time in New Zealand's victory, before tallying five shots and a steal in 21:56 versus Canada. She tacked on three goals off four shots in 27:29 against Australia as the squad finished third in its pool. In the next round versus Germany, she tallied three goals on five shots with a steal.

In 2009, Hudson became the first player at Hartwick to break the 200-point mark in a single season. She also set career marks for goals and points, and reached the 500-point mark for her career. 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 for her three-year career.

Hudson will have a chance to continue her international experience next year as New Zealand will serve as host of the 2010 FINA World Cup.