LA JOLLA, Calif. - Four members of the UC San Diego women's water polo team earned Big West postseason accolades as the conference announced its 2026 awards Friday.
A trio of Tritons - junior
Emily Cloherty, senior
Sydney Munatones, and junior
Abigail Schechter - were selected All-Big West Honorable Mention, while
Caitlin Stayt was named to the league's All-Freshman Team.
Over 23 games, Cloherty led UC San Diego in point production with 65 off of 46 goals and 19 assists. She was second in shots with 93 and fourth in steals with 19. In the Big West, Cloherty ranked ninth in goals per game (2.0). She scored multiple goals in 16 contests and recorded at least a hat trick in nine.
Munatones saw action in all 24 games and dished out a team-best 32 assists. Her assist total was the eighth-highest in the Big West. She also scored 13 goals and her 45 points ranked fourth on the squad. Her 20 steals were the third-most of any Triton. She ranked fifth in the Big West with 17 sprint wins. Munatones was a Big West All-Freshman Team selection in 2023.
Schechter also played in all 24 games, scoring in 23 of those and finishing with multiple goals in 18. Her 56 goals led UC San Diego and ranked sixth in the Big West. Her 105 shots were the most by any Triton as were her 32 drawn exclusions.
Schechter was recently named to the 2026 Cutino Award Watch List.
Stayt had an outstanding freshman season, totaling 37 goals and six assists over 23 games. Her 37 goals and 85 shots were the third-most on the team. She also finished with nine steals and eight drawn exclusions. Stayt scored at least once in all but five games and netted multiple goals in eight games.
The Tritons finished their 2026 campaign with an 11-13 record and a 3-4 mark in Big West match-ups.
UC San Diego is hosting the National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship April 24-26. A play-in game on April 22 between Wagner and CUI will decide the eighth and final squad in the field. Stanford, UCLA, USC, California, Hawai'i, Harvard and LMU have already earned a berth. Quarterfinals are set for April 24 with semifinals on April 25 and the championship contest scheduled for Sunday at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
For a full schedule and ticket information, please
click here.
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.
