LA JOLLA, Calif. — Nine members of the UC San Diego men's water polo team earned All-Big West recognition Friday as the conference announced its postseason awards.

Leading the pack are seniors Bennett Axline and Eamon Hennessey as All-Big West First Team honorees as well as junior Christian Hammonds, who merited an All-Big West Second Team nod.

A quartet of Tritons - senior Ante Buzov, grad student Felipe Ferreira, senior Brendon Fezzey, and senior Lucas Romaguera - earned Honorable Mention accolades and the duo of Jackson Boettner and Alex Hegeman were selected to the Big West All-Freshman Team.

UC San Diego finished its 2025 campaign with a 21-10 overall record and a 2-3 mark in Big West games. As the fourth seed at the Big West Championship, the Tritons defeated host UC Irvine in the first round before falling to top-seeded Long Beach State in a semifinal.  

BENNETT AXLINE
All-Big West First Team
Senior | Utility | Rancho Bernardo, Calif.
• Three-time All-Big West selection (2025 1st; 2024 HM; 2023 2nd)
• Led team in drawn exclusions (73)
• 2nd on team in goals (43)
• 3rd on team in shots (87)
• 13 multiple-goal games
• 7 hat tricks
• 2 game-winning goals

EAMON HENNESSEY
All-Big West First Team
Senior | Utility | Newport Beach, Calif.
• Two-time All-Big West selection (2025 1st; 2024 2nd)
• Led team in goals (55), points (72), and shots (123)
• In Big West, 7th in points, 8th in goals and goals/game, 10th in points/game
• Scored in 26 of 31 games
• Started season with 10-game scoring streak
• 16 multiple-goal games
• 5 hat tricks
• 3 game-winning goals
• Career-high 8 goals at LMU

CHRISTIAN HAMMONDS
All-Big West Second team
Sophomore | Attacker | Fountain Valley, Calif.
• 2nd on team in points (64), assists (33), and steals (25)
• In Big West, 6th in assists, 8th in steals and assists/game
• Had at least 1 point in 26 of 31 games
• Multiple points in 20 games
• Multiple goals in 9 games
• 2 hat tricks
• Team-high 4 game-winning goals

ANTE BUZOV
All-Big West Honorable Mention
Senior | Utility | Split, Croatia
• 4th on team in drawn exclusions (20) and field blocks (7)
• 5th on team in goals (32)
• Scored in 18 games
• 9 multiple-goal games
• 4 hat tricks
• 1 game-winning goal

FELIPE FERREIRA
All-Big West Honorable Mention
Grad Student | Attacker | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Three-time All-Big West Honorable Mention (2025, 2024, 2023)
• 3rd on team in assists (30)
• 4th on team in points (53)
• Scored in 19 games
• Multiple goals in 4 games
• 3 game-winning goals
• 10th in Big West in assists (30)
• Team's primary sprinter posted a 39-17 (.696) record
• Led Big West in sprint wins (39)
• 2nd in Big West in sprint win percentage (.696)

BRENDON FEZZEY
All-Big West Honorable Mention
Senior | Utility | Riverside, Calif.
• Finished with 31 points on 17 goals and 14 assists
• 6th on team in steals with 20
• Scored in 12 games
• Multiple goals in 4 games
• Multiple assists in 3 games
• Multiple steals in 5 games

LUCAS ROMAGUERA
All-Big West Honorable Mention
Senior | Attacker | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• 2nd on team in shots (89)
• 3rd on team in drawn exclusions (23) and steals (23)
• 4th on team in goals (34)
• 5th on team in points (49)
• Scored in 19 of 25 games
• 9 multiple-goal games
• 5 hat tricks
• 1 game-winning goal

JACKSON BOETTNER
Big West All-Freshman Team
Attacker | San Jose, Calif.
• 3rd on team in goals (36) and field blocks (8)
• 4th on team in shots (80)
• 6th on team in points (48)
• Scored in 18 games
• 11 multiple-goal games
• 5 hat tricks

ALEX HEGEMAN
Big West All-Freshman Team
Goalie | San Jose, Calif.
• Played 943 out of 1,013 possible minutes over the season
• Posted a 20-10 (.667) record
• Led team in steals (32)
• Led Big West in goals against average (10.25)
• Ranked 2nd in Big West in steals
• Ranked 3rd in Big West in saves (194)
• Ranked 5th in Big West in save percentage (.391)
• Season high in saves was 14 at Concordia
• Made 11 saves against USC

---

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.