STANFORD, Calif. – Sophomore Ben Hallock was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Year and Dunlevie Family Director of Men's Water Polo, John Vargas was voted the MPSF Coach of the Year to highlight Stanford's six conference postseason honorees altogether.
Hallock, Blake Parrish and Bennett Williams were First Team All-MPSF selections, Lewis was a second-team honoree and Abramson was an honorable mention pick.
Hallock, who was the MPSF Newcomer of the Year as a freshman last season, finished the regular season with 55 goals to lead the Cardinal and rank second in the MPSF in scoring at 2.89 goals per game. He posted multiple scores in 16 of the 19 matches he played in this season, capturing conference player of the week honors twice during the season. Hallock scored a career-best eight goals in the win over UC Irvine at the end of October.
Hallock is the first conference player of the year since Jimmie Sandman in 2008. It is the 10th time a Cardinal has been honored as the conference player of the year. Along with Hallock and Sandman, Tony Azevedo (2001-04) was honored four times, Brian Heifferon captured the conference's top honor in 1999, Layne Beaubien in 1998; Brian Wallin in 1996 and Wolf Wigo in 1994.
Vargas collected his second career MPSF Coach of the Year honor. He was also tabbed the conference coach of the year in 2004. Vargas, in his 17th season as the Cardinal mentor, led Stanford to an 18-2 regular-season record, its best regular-season mark since 2009. The Cardinal also secured its second consecutive MPSF regular-season title with a win over California in the Big Splash this past Saturday. Vargas owns a stellar 339-104 career record as the head coach of the Cardinal.
Parrish was honored by the MPSF for the third consecutive season. He was a first-team selection in 2016 and an honorable mention pick in 2017. Parrish was fourth on the team with 37 goals during the regular season. The senior is Stanford's active career scoring leader with 147 career scores.
Williams was recognized for the second time in his career. He was an honorable mention pick in 2016. The junior finished second on the team with 51 goals, including a career-high six at Pepperdine in September. The Cardinal captured MPSF Player of the Week honors on Monday after scoring four goals, including the game winner in Stanford's 12-11 overtime victory over California this past Saturday.
Lewis, who was an MPSF honorable mention selection in 2016, completed a standout regular season as the Cardinal goalie. He was second in the MPSF in saves per game (11.49), highlighted by a career-best 17-save performance at Pepperdine in September. The senior earned MPSF Player of the Week honors after posting 32 combined saves in wins at Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara.
Abramson was recognized by the MPSF for the first time. He finished the regular season with 49 goals to rank third on the Cardinal roster and fourth in the MPSF in scoring.
Stanford will begin play in the MPSF Championships on Saturday at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The Cardinal will face either UCLA, Austin College or Penn State Behrend at 3 p.m. in the tournament's semifinal round.
