Bruins Pick Up Nine Pac-12 Honors
May 03, 2018 | Beach Volleyball
Stein Metzger named Pac-12 Coach of the Year, Nicole McNamara named Player of the Year and Nicole and Megan McNamara named Pair of the Year.
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SAN FRANCISCOย --ย UCLA junior Nicole McNamara was voted Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Player of the Year andย is part of the duo that was voted Pac-12 Pair of the Year with her twin sister Megan McNamara, theย Conference office announced today. USC's Tina Graudina was voted the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year whileย UCLA's Stein Metzger was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the second-straight year.
The McNamara twins have posted a 31-7 record at the No. 1 pairs position this season, leading UCLA to itsย 30-win season and first Pac-12 title last week. The Vancouver, BC, Canada, natives defeated USC's top pair ofย Tina Graudina and Abril Bustamante in the championship dual to clinch the conference crown, 3-1. The duo'sย 31 wins are the most of any pair in the country this season while leading the Bruins to their first No. 1 seed inย the upcoming NCAA Championship. The pair was named Pac-12 Pair of the Week on March 20 and wasย voted to the Pac-12 Championship All-Tournament team last week. The duo is the first Bruin to win the Pac-12ย Pair of the Year honor and Nicole is also the first Bruin to win the Pac-12 Player of the Year recognition.
For the second-straight year, UCLA's Metzger is voted the coach of the year by his league peers, leading UCLAย to the program's first conference title, and first No. 1 seed in the Pac-12 Championship and upcoming NCAAย Championship. The team has won a program-record 35 wins while currently riding a team-record 30-dual winย streak. Suffering just three losses this season, the setbacks have been to teams participating in the NCAAย Championship this week and are ranked in the top five in the country, their last loss coming on March 8. Threeย Bruin tandems were named to the Pac-12 Championship All-Tournament team after the Bruins defeated USCย for the conference title, 3-1.
Sophomore Lily Justine joined the McNamarasย as First Team All-Pac-12 selections, as did her partner on court two, junior Sarah Sponcil. Sophomore Savvy Simoย was named as a Second Team All-Pac-12 performer while Mac May was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team.
The Bruins begin their 2018 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship quest tomorrow as the No. 1 seed. UCLA will face No. 8 FIU at 7:00 a.m. PT/10:00 a.m. ET live on ESPNU. All five courts will also be streamed live on ESPN3.
Pac-12 Player of the Year: Nicole McNamara, UCLA
Pac-12 Freshman of the Year: Tina Graudina, USC
Pac-12 Pair of the Year: Nicole McNamara and Megan McNamara, UCLA
Pac-12 Coach of the Year: Stein Metzger, UCLA
First Team
Abril Bustamante, USC, Jr., Redondo Beach, Calif.
Terese Cannon, USC, Sr.,ย Pittsford, N.Y.
Tina Graudina, USC, Fr.,ย Jurmala, Latvia
Lily Justine, UCLA, So., Chico, Calif.
Megan McNamara, UCLA, Jr., Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Nicole McNamara, UCLA, Jr., Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Mima Mirkovic, California, Fr., Irvine, Calif.
Kathryn Plummer, Stanford, So.,ย Aliso Viejo, Calif.
Sarah Sponcil, UCLA, Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.
Courtney Schwan, Washington, Sr., Auburn, Wash.
Second Team
Adora Anae, Utah, Sr.,ย Punaluu, Hawai'i
Jordan Anderson, Washington, Sr., Flower Mound, Texas
Dani Barton, Utah, So., Sandy, Utah
Courtney Bowen, Stanford, Jr., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Hailey Hallgren, USC, Fr.,ย Southlake, Texas
Morgan Hentz, Stanford, So., Lakeside Park, Ky.
Destiny Julye, Washington, Jr.,ย Tehachhapi, Calif.
Iya Lindahl, California, So., San Diego, Calif.
Savvy Simo, UCLA, So., Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
Sammy Slater, USC, Fr., Ventura, Calif.
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Tina Graudina, USC,ย Jurmala, Latvia
Mac May, UCLA, Dubuque, Iowa
Mima Mirkovic, California, Irvine, Calif.
Sammy Slater, USC, Ventura, Calif.
Sunny Villapando, Stanford, Manhattan Beach, Calif.
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