STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford was honored with five Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-Americans on Thursday, including four first-time selections.
Sophie Wallace led the way as a first-team pick, Christina Hicks earned a spot on the second team while Maya Avital, Maggie Hawkins and Sophia Sanders were tabbed honorable mention recipients.
Only Avital is a repeat honoree, now a three-time selection after being named to the first team in 2023 and second team in 2022.
Stanford was honored with at least four ACWPC All-Americans for the 20th consecutive season. The Cardinal has produced 62 All-Americans in school history, with those individuals combining for 149 honors.
Stanford's multi-player representation among the ACWPC All-America teams was even more impressive this season. The Cardinal's five honorees each adjusted to new roles or emerged as team leaders, eclipsing their 2023 production while helping establish an identity for a new-look roster offsetting the loss of three All-Americans during an Olympic year.
Wallace enjoyed a breakthrough season, returning for a fifth year to provide veteran leadership and stability. Wallace was named to the All-MPSF First Team for the first all-conference honor of her career while leading the Cardinal in goals (54), assists (36), points (90), shots (148) and multi-goal games (18). The Cardinal's leading scorer in six games, Wallace also earned spots on the NCAA All-Tournament First Team and MPSF All-Tournament Team.
In addition to their All-America status, Hicks (second team) and Hawkins (honorable mention) were named to the All-MPSF team. Named to the NCAA All-Tournament Second Team, Hicks ranked second on the team in goals (47), third in shots (102) and fourth in points (50) while delivering 11 multi-goal games. Stanford's only MPSF Player of the Week honoree in 2024, Hawkins led the conference in sprint wins (47) and ranked fourth on the team in assists (12) while placing fifth in goals (30) and shots (79) to go with eight multi-goal games.
Sanders earned the first major honor of her career, thanks to a huge season in which she shattered the combined output from her first two seasons. Sanders ranked second on the team in shots (110) while placing third in goals (44) and assists (19) while totaling 15 multi-goal games. From 2022-23, Sanders had produced only 12 goals and six assists through 15 career games.
Stanford was anchored by one of the nation's top goalkeepers in Avital, who closed out her career ranking second in program history with 613 saves. Avital finished with 203 saves in 2024, good for sixth on the all-time single-season list and giving her three entries among the top-10. She finished with at least 10 saves in 11 games, including a career-high 18 stops against Indiana on April 26 in the MPSF Championship.
No. 4 Stanford (19-7, 4-2 MPSF) maintained its standing among the nation's elite, producing an NCAA semifinal finish while extending its streak as the only program to have participated at every NCAA Championship since the event's inception in 2001. The Cardinal, which fell short in its bid for an NCAA three-peat, was ranked as high as No. 3 during the season and nearly reached its 13th NCAA final in 14 seasons.