Ahead of Sun Devil Water Polo's 2024 season, learn more about the roster with this breakdown of the 21 members of the program, ranging from a mix of upperclassmen to new faces surrounding the team with nine freshmen donning the Maroon & Gold come Spring.
Inside the roster of 21 are ten athletes coming from six different countries (Hungary, Spain, Netherlands, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa) ranging from four different continents (North America, Europe, Africa and Oceania).
Goalkeepers:
#1 Alexa Knutson:
After a year of facing off against some of the toughest competition in the MPSF conference on a weekly basis by tallying a team-high 7.33 saves per game, compiling 110 saves over 15 appearances and making nine starts in net for the Sun Devils. In her 15 appearances in 2023, she had five games with 10+ saves, and obtained a career-high 16 saves against Harvard on March 11. She appeared in one MPSF tournament game and recorded 14 steals in net throughout her first year. Between March 26–April 8, she had a three-game span of recording double-digit saves, totaling 37 against UCLA, Indiana, and Stanford, all ranked teams in the MPSF.
#1 Marie Rudasics:
Going into year three with the program she has appeared in 11 games and making the most of her five starts in net for the Sun Devils boasting a 4-1 record. In the nine games she played in her freshman year, she had a .461 save percentage, leading the team in 2022. Her experience and leadership add depth to the upcoming season's goalkeeping position.
#1 Erika Staine:
The freshman comes from the same high school of former Sun Devil goalkeeper Itzahiana Baca who compiled 385 saves across her four seasons with the program. Staine was a two sport athlete out of Schurr High School and a member of her varsity team for all four years. She's a two-time defensive player of the year and a back-to-back Almont league champion. Staine's quick elusiveness creates a trio of fierce goaltenders for the team.
Attackers:
#4 Luca Petovary:
In her junior season, she put up career highs in all offensive categories and also tallied a career-high with 35 steals in 2023, more than her previous two years combined where she had 22 steals. Playing in the MPSF, she found the back of the net 53 times which ranked only behind Juliette Dhalluin's 70 goals. Petovary had 17 games with three goals or more, and ranked second on the team with 25 assists, which was a career-high. Heading into the 2024 season she's 20 points away from being the eighth player in program history to surpass 200 points, and is looking to become the ninth player in program history to score 150 goals in her career. In a match against Salem, she broke the program record for most points by a Sun Devil in a single game with 14, having seven goals and seven assists.
#8 Millie Quin:
Coming from California after her freshman year, she adds her scoring ability and length to the offense after netting 19 goals in 22 matches for the Golden Bears in 2023. She comes off a summer of playing for New Zealand with teammate Sophie Shorter-Robinson in the World Aquatics Women's Water Polo World Cup in June, and competing for her country in July at the World Aquatics Water Polo World Championships alongside Robinson. Quin helped serve as a captain for New Zealand at the 2022 Youth World Championships and added scoring depth to the team for 2024.
#11 Abby Begg:
Coming back from taking a medical redshirt the year before, she boasts experience and has scoring abilty from anywhere in the pool. In both her first two years with the teams she has double-digit goals and reached a career high of 13 assists in her sophomore season in 15 games during the 2022 season. In her first season, she appeared in every game but one in 2021.
#12 Kendra Norman:
Coming from South Africa, she attended the Crawford International Lonehill where she competed with the number one team in the country. While attending Crawford International she played for the junior national team and managed to be one of the best players on her squad.
Jasmijn Dikmans:
Coming from the Netherlands like past Sun Devils Bente and Lieke Rogge, Dikmans has found success playing in Europe and with the Dutch national team. She has won back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022 with the Polar Bears Edes Club. While playing for the national team she competed for the U17 team where they placed 5th, the U19 team, placing 4th and competing in European Youth Championships in 2022. Dikmans adds plenty of experience and help the team coming into the season.
Kat Featherstone:
The freshman is one of two players to come from Canada and played in September with Ashley Ferguson and was coached by assistant Ethan D'Souza at the U20 World Aquatics Water Polo World Championships. Featherstone comes from Calgary and has prior experience on the Canadian Youth National Team in the U18 World Championships and U19 Pan-Am Championships in 2021. She has the ability to score from anywhere after netting 52 goals in the U17 National Championship League.
Gabby Gaetano:
The California native spent three years as a varsity starter for El Toro High School and was a two-time captain while also competing for her swim team for two seasons. She was named a two-time all-league member and posted 36 goals, 21 assists, and 34 steals in her senior season in high school. She also led the team with her 21 dishes, and ranked second on the team with 36 goals in net, bringing more offense to the team.
Sandra Garcia:
The freshman from Spain has spent seven years on the Barcelona Club team and spent the last four on the club's senior team. She was part of a team that won two gold medals at the European Championships with the U15 and U19 teams in her career. Before coming to Tempe she was playing in the top division in Spanish water polo and will look to assist the team this upcoming season.
Alison Kokorowski:
Coming out of California and thriving on Mira Costa's Water Polo team in high school. Her scoring ability will help the team throughout the year. Kokorowski was named on the All-bay second league team her junior season and played for the Rose Bowl Water Polo Club team.
Center
#15 Alba Olivé Martí:
Entering her fourth year with the program seeing consistent action across her three seasons. Last year she put up a career-high 16 goals, and tallied 10 steals. She had four multi-goal games last season and was consistent throughout the year. She has 43 total goals throughout her three seasons and is a fierce defensive player with 25 career steals.
#9 Sophie Shorter-Robinson:
After a summer of playing at the Women's Water Polo World Cup and in the World Aquatic's Water Polo World Championships for New Zealand alongside Millie Quin. She is entering her second year with the program after finding the back of the net 25 times, and having five multi-goal games during the season. She started off her freshman campaign scoring in eight straight matches, knotting 12 goals in that span. She had a season high four goals against two of the top teams in the nation against No. 1 Stanford on Feb. 4, 2023 and No. 2 USC on April 15, 2023. She totaled four assists during the year and had 11 steals during the season.
Defenders:
#5 Lara Kiss:
After using the medical redshirt last year, she's returning for a fifth season as a graduate after appearing in the first eight games of the 2023 season, in which she recorded 22 steals and 13 assists. Throughout her career, she's been a proven leader and competitor with 55 career goals and 98 career assists. She is one of 11 Sun Devils in program history to record 100+ career steals, and is currently ranked tied for fourth on the all-time career assists list, and is 21 away from holding the program record. In 2022 she had the second most points on the team with 54 and was named as an All-MPSF honorable mention, while appearing in every game for the maroon & gold in 2022. Her 41 assists in a single season rank as a tie for sixth in program history. She had a career-high of six points (1G-5A) against SDSU (2/6).
#13 Zoe Frangieh:
Coming off a freshman campaign where she appeared in every match for the Sun Devils, she was consistently able to make an impact. She scored her first career goal in a match against CBU, and had six assists and six steals throughout the season.
#16 Molly Ostrowski:
A two-way player who played in net her freshman year and made the transition to being a field player last season. She tallied her first multi-goal game against Salem last season along with a pair of steals.
Utility's
#6 Tarah Schaffer:
Entering her fourth year with the program after appearing in 11 games last season for the Sun Devils, she managed a season-high two goals against top-ranked USC, and swiped nine steals throughout the season. She's been named to the MPSF-All-Academic list for two consecutive years.
#7 Emily Van Zonneveld:
Returned last season after using a medical redshirt in which she appeared in 20 games scoring nine goals during the season. She also managed her first career hat trick against Salem, and then later netted three goals in a game against San Jose State. Has the ability to play on both sides, with six steals during the year.
Ashley Ferguson:
Playing alongside Kat Featherstone in September in the U20 World Aquatic Water Polo World Championships for Team Canada, already adding to her experience of playing internationally for her country. She was part of the Junior National Team in 2022 and tallied nine goals in six games, including earning a player of the match honor against Serbia. In her experiences of playing in Canada and for club teams, she earned numerous honors for her success and will help the squad in 2024.
Genesis Jasper:
The freshman from California has a scoring ability from anywhere in the pool. Spending all four years on the varsity team in high school, she earned a number of accolades, including an Offensive Player of the Year honor in 2019. In 32 games she gathered 133 goals, 104 assists and 120 steals. The California native will look to add to the offensive and defensive side matches while competing in the toughest water polo conference in the country.
FOLLOW ON SOCIALS:
Continue following Sun Devil Water Polo on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook ahead of the 2024 season @SunDevilWP for coverage of the team and content.
Inside the roster of 21 are ten athletes coming from six different countries (Hungary, Spain, Netherlands, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa) ranging from four different continents (North America, Europe, Africa and Oceania).
Goalkeepers:
#1 Alexa Knutson:
After a year of facing off against some of the toughest competition in the MPSF conference on a weekly basis by tallying a team-high 7.33 saves per game, compiling 110 saves over 15 appearances and making nine starts in net for the Sun Devils. In her 15 appearances in 2023, she had five games with 10+ saves, and obtained a career-high 16 saves against Harvard on March 11. She appeared in one MPSF tournament game and recorded 14 steals in net throughout her first year. Between March 26–April 8, she had a three-game span of recording double-digit saves, totaling 37 against UCLA, Indiana, and Stanford, all ranked teams in the MPSF.
#1 Marie Rudasics:
Going into year three with the program she has appeared in 11 games and making the most of her five starts in net for the Sun Devils boasting a 4-1 record. In the nine games she played in her freshman year, she had a .461 save percentage, leading the team in 2022. Her experience and leadership add depth to the upcoming season's goalkeeping position.
#1 Erika Staine:
The freshman comes from the same high school of former Sun Devil goalkeeper Itzahiana Baca who compiled 385 saves across her four seasons with the program. Staine was a two sport athlete out of Schurr High School and a member of her varsity team for all four years. She's a two-time defensive player of the year and a back-to-back Almont league champion. Staine's quick elusiveness creates a trio of fierce goaltenders for the team.
Attackers:
#4 Luca Petovary:
In her junior season, she put up career highs in all offensive categories and also tallied a career-high with 35 steals in 2023, more than her previous two years combined where she had 22 steals. Playing in the MPSF, she found the back of the net 53 times which ranked only behind Juliette Dhalluin's 70 goals. Petovary had 17 games with three goals or more, and ranked second on the team with 25 assists, which was a career-high. Heading into the 2024 season she's 20 points away from being the eighth player in program history to surpass 200 points, and is looking to become the ninth player in program history to score 150 goals in her career. In a match against Salem, she broke the program record for most points by a Sun Devil in a single game with 14, having seven goals and seven assists.
#8 Millie Quin:
Coming from California after her freshman year, she adds her scoring ability and length to the offense after netting 19 goals in 22 matches for the Golden Bears in 2023. She comes off a summer of playing for New Zealand with teammate Sophie Shorter-Robinson in the World Aquatics Women's Water Polo World Cup in June, and competing for her country in July at the World Aquatics Water Polo World Championships alongside Robinson. Quin helped serve as a captain for New Zealand at the 2022 Youth World Championships and added scoring depth to the team for 2024.
#11 Abby Begg:
Coming back from taking a medical redshirt the year before, she boasts experience and has scoring abilty from anywhere in the pool. In both her first two years with the teams she has double-digit goals and reached a career high of 13 assists in her sophomore season in 15 games during the 2022 season. In her first season, she appeared in every game but one in 2021.
#12 Kendra Norman:
Coming from South Africa, she attended the Crawford International Lonehill where she competed with the number one team in the country. While attending Crawford International she played for the junior national team and managed to be one of the best players on her squad.
Jasmijn Dikmans:
Coming from the Netherlands like past Sun Devils Bente and Lieke Rogge, Dikmans has found success playing in Europe and with the Dutch national team. She has won back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022 with the Polar Bears Edes Club. While playing for the national team she competed for the U17 team where they placed 5th, the U19 team, placing 4th and competing in European Youth Championships in 2022. Dikmans adds plenty of experience and help the team coming into the season.
Kat Featherstone:
The freshman is one of two players to come from Canada and played in September with Ashley Ferguson and was coached by assistant Ethan D'Souza at the U20 World Aquatics Water Polo World Championships. Featherstone comes from Calgary and has prior experience on the Canadian Youth National Team in the U18 World Championships and U19 Pan-Am Championships in 2021. She has the ability to score from anywhere after netting 52 goals in the U17 National Championship League.
Gabby Gaetano:
The California native spent three years as a varsity starter for El Toro High School and was a two-time captain while also competing for her swim team for two seasons. She was named a two-time all-league member and posted 36 goals, 21 assists, and 34 steals in her senior season in high school. She also led the team with her 21 dishes, and ranked second on the team with 36 goals in net, bringing more offense to the team.
Sandra Garcia:
The freshman from Spain has spent seven years on the Barcelona Club team and spent the last four on the club's senior team. She was part of a team that won two gold medals at the European Championships with the U15 and U19 teams in her career. Before coming to Tempe she was playing in the top division in Spanish water polo and will look to assist the team this upcoming season.
Alison Kokorowski:
Coming out of California and thriving on Mira Costa's Water Polo team in high school. Her scoring ability will help the team throughout the year. Kokorowski was named on the All-bay second league team her junior season and played for the Rose Bowl Water Polo Club team.
Center
#15 Alba Olivé Martí:
Entering her fourth year with the program seeing consistent action across her three seasons. Last year she put up a career-high 16 goals, and tallied 10 steals. She had four multi-goal games last season and was consistent throughout the year. She has 43 total goals throughout her three seasons and is a fierce defensive player with 25 career steals.
#9 Sophie Shorter-Robinson:
After a summer of playing at the Women's Water Polo World Cup and in the World Aquatic's Water Polo World Championships for New Zealand alongside Millie Quin. She is entering her second year with the program after finding the back of the net 25 times, and having five multi-goal games during the season. She started off her freshman campaign scoring in eight straight matches, knotting 12 goals in that span. She had a season high four goals against two of the top teams in the nation against No. 1 Stanford on Feb. 4, 2023 and No. 2 USC on April 15, 2023. She totaled four assists during the year and had 11 steals during the season.
Defenders:
#5 Lara Kiss:
After using the medical redshirt last year, she's returning for a fifth season as a graduate after appearing in the first eight games of the 2023 season, in which she recorded 22 steals and 13 assists. Throughout her career, she's been a proven leader and competitor with 55 career goals and 98 career assists. She is one of 11 Sun Devils in program history to record 100+ career steals, and is currently ranked tied for fourth on the all-time career assists list, and is 21 away from holding the program record. In 2022 she had the second most points on the team with 54 and was named as an All-MPSF honorable mention, while appearing in every game for the maroon & gold in 2022. Her 41 assists in a single season rank as a tie for sixth in program history. She had a career-high of six points (1G-5A) against SDSU (2/6).
#13 Zoe Frangieh:
Coming off a freshman campaign where she appeared in every match for the Sun Devils, she was consistently able to make an impact. She scored her first career goal in a match against CBU, and had six assists and six steals throughout the season.
#16 Molly Ostrowski:
A two-way player who played in net her freshman year and made the transition to being a field player last season. She tallied her first multi-goal game against Salem last season along with a pair of steals.
Utility's
#6 Tarah Schaffer:
Entering her fourth year with the program after appearing in 11 games last season for the Sun Devils, she managed a season-high two goals against top-ranked USC, and swiped nine steals throughout the season. She's been named to the MPSF-All-Academic list for two consecutive years.
#7 Emily Van Zonneveld:
Returned last season after using a medical redshirt in which she appeared in 20 games scoring nine goals during the season. She also managed her first career hat trick against Salem, and then later netted three goals in a game against San Jose State. Has the ability to play on both sides, with six steals during the year.
Ashley Ferguson:
Playing alongside Kat Featherstone in September in the U20 World Aquatic Water Polo World Championships for Team Canada, already adding to her experience of playing internationally for her country. She was part of the Junior National Team in 2022 and tallied nine goals in six games, including earning a player of the match honor against Serbia. In her experiences of playing in Canada and for club teams, she earned numerous honors for her success and will help the squad in 2024.
Genesis Jasper:
The freshman from California has a scoring ability from anywhere in the pool. Spending all four years on the varsity team in high school, she earned a number of accolades, including an Offensive Player of the Year honor in 2019. In 32 games she gathered 133 goals, 104 assists and 120 steals. The California native will look to add to the offensive and defensive side matches while competing in the toughest water polo conference in the country.
FOLLOW ON SOCIALS:
Continue following Sun Devil Water Polo on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook ahead of the 2024 season @SunDevilWP for coverage of the team and content.