April 30, 2013
TEMPE – The first of what is likely to be many postseason awards to be received by the Arizona State University water polo team was released today as sophomore Ao Gao was named to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation All-Tournament team after her performance this past weekend, the MPSF announced on Tuesday.
Gao was perhaps ASU’s most consistent player over the course of the weekend as she helped the team to a program-best fourth-place finish in the tournament.
Gao scored six goals in the tournament, which was second-best on the team despite scoring them out of the two-meter defender position.
A two-time Olympian, Gao had a team-best five steals on the weekend as the team knocked off San Jose State in the opening round before suffering tough defeats to USC and UCLA to close out the competition.
The 2013 squad finished with a program-best 26 wins on the season and the team’s 4-2 MPSF record was also a program best in addition to the fourth-place finish at the MPSF Tourney.