Wertz & Stefanovic Earn Player of the Year Honors on 2009 Men's Varsity All-North, All-South Teams

Svetozar Stefanovic

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Kyle Wertz (So., San Diego, Calif./Westlake) of the United States Naval Academy and Svetozar Stefanovic (Fr., Belgrade, Serbia/Russian Embassy) of Brown University were honored with Player of the Year honors in the Southern and Northern Divisions, respectively, as the Collegiate Water Polo Association announced the organizations Northern & Southern All-Conference Teams at the annual Eastern Championship banquet on Friday, November 20 at the Holiday Inn-Boston/Somerville.

The highest honors presented by the Collegiate Water Polo Association to an active player, the All-Conference Teams are voted on by each division's head coaches and represent the opinion of which players excelled in the water during the 2009 season.

On the North Team, Ali Arat (Gr., Istanbul, Turkey/Sisli Terakki Secondary/Koc University) and Bill Harris of Fordham University were honored with the division's Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year accolades for leading the Rams back to the Eastern Championship for the first time since the 1987 season.

Although not a freshman, Arat was honored as the Rookie of the Year due to the 2009 season being his first season in the Collegiate Water Polo Association and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Water Polo. 

In the Southern Division, Alex Whittam (Fr., Hillsborough, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) of Johns Hopkins University and Mike Schofield of the United States Naval Academy were recognized as the Southern Rookie and Coach of the Year for helping their programs reach the Eastern Championship for another year.