Harvard's Laurel McCarthy Named March 22 Women's Varsity Northern Division Defensive Player of the Week

Laurel McCarthy

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- Harvard University's Laurel McCarthy (So., Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) turned away 28 shots, including four saves in a win over No. 19-nationally ranked California State University-East Bay, in a 3-3 week for the Crimson on the West Coast to earn the March 22 Women's Varsity Northern Division Defensive Player of the Week award.

The award is the first weekly honor from the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) awarded to McCarthy and marks the first time a Harvard player has garnered the Defensive Player of the Week award since the accolades inception prior to the 2010 season.

She turned away five shots in a 7-4 win over Fresno Pacific University in three periods of paly, before stopping three shots in a pair of games against No. 15 University of California-Davis (12-4 L) and No. 7  San Jose State University (13-7 L).

Following her four top performance against CSU-East Bay (15-11 W), she handled seven shots versus No. 17 University of the Pacific (11-5 L) and six scoring tries versus California State University-Monterey Bay (13-10 W) to conclude the week with a 3-3 mark and raise the Crimson record to 11-8 on the season.