Wesley Hertel, Graham Asalone, Vasil Halchev playing water polo.
From left to right: Wesley Hertel, Graham Asalone, Vasil alchev (Photos by Larry Newman)

Trio of Panthers selected as All-Americans

ORANGE, Calif. – Freshman Graham Asalone led a trio of Chapman University men's water polo players to earn All-American honors from the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches. Asalone landed a spot on the Second Team while juniors Wesley Hertel and Vasil Halchev each earned Honorable Mention.

Asalone was previously named to the All-SCIAC Second Team following a breakout freshman campaign that saw him break the school record for assists in a single season. He led the squad and the SCIAC with 69 assists to go along with his 57 goals. The freshman standout from Carlsbad, Calif. started his career with four goals and a pair of assists against Long Beach State and scored a season-high six goals against Johns Hopkins. He had seven assists to go along with a pair of goals against Occidental on Oct. 27. The rookie also ranked second on the team in drawn exclusions and steals.

Halchev earned All-America Honorable Mention after his first year on campus. The transfer from LA Valley College was the Panthers leading scorer with 67 goals, including a season-high six-goal performance against Fresno Pacific. He also led the team with 66 drawn exclusions and was one of five Panthers with at least 40 steals.

For the second year in a row, Hertel earned a spot on the list of Honorable Mention. The junior goalie from Houston, Texas set a school record with 314 saves this season, including a career-best of 18 saves on the first day of the season against Cal Baptist. He had double digit saves in 16 of the 26 matches he played in this season to go along with a team-best 66 steals. He scored a goal this season and distributed seven assists.

Complete ACWPC All-American Teams

 

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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