Whittier’s Nevarez Named SCIAC Water Polo Athlete of the Year

Courtesy: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

The 2019 All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) men’s water polo teams were announced Friday following a vote conducted by the league’s member head coaches.

Dominick Nevarez of Whittier was voted the 2019 SCIAC Athlete of the Year as he helped the Poets to a 13-1 mark in SCIAC play and the top seed in the upcoming conference postseason tournament. In his first season at Whittier, Nevarez netted 38 of his 56 goals against league competition and logged 52 points against the SCIAC (73 total points) in 2019.

2019 Newcomer of the Year honors went to La Verne’s first-year Alam Barnuevo. The La Verne, Calif. native helped the Leopards to a 4-10 record in league play, scoring 47 total goals, with 19 assists and 17 steals.

The water polo character award is presented to a senior who best exemplifies success in the pool, in the classroom and with involvement in community and school service. Specifically it recognizes students who, while competing on their teams, have been recognized by coaches, officials, institutional administrators or others as making significant contributions representing their school and serving their communities based on the following criteria: advancing sportsmanship, balancing sports and major personal academic achievements, demonstrating behavior that models efforts of inclusion within their teams and those of their opponents, contributes to a sense of civility in society, or otherwise innovatively elevates the profile of what participation in the SCIAC conference and as a Division III student-athlete can offer to the betterment of community.

Caltech’s Bradley Justice was voted the Character Award winner in 2019. Justice was a four-year player and starter for the Beavers, and over the past three years, has worked for a government contracted company to help improve our national security. In the pool, Justice logged 145 saves with 116 of those stops coming against conference competition.

Second-year head coach David Kasa and the Poets staff were voted the 2019 SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year. Under Kasa’s guidance, Whittier notched a 17-12 overall record that was highlighted by a 13-1 ledger in conference play. Entering SCIAC Postseason Tournament action as the top seed, the Poets have won three straight and seven of the last eight since Oct. 23.