TEMPE ? The Arizona State University water polo program will add two promising newcomers to the squad next season, as head coach Todd Clapper announced the 2016-17 signing class on Thursday.
The signing class consists of two prominent prep stars out of Southern California in goalkeeper Emily Sonny (Arroyo Grande HS/Arroyo Grande, Calif.) and utility player Maia Borisoff (Dana Hills HS/Dana Point, Calif.).
"Both Emily and Maia are perfect fits for what we are trying to accomplish with our program," Clapper said? "They're tall and athletic and have the right kind of attitude and character that we want on our team. We're expecting big impact from them down the road."
Emily Sonny was the 2015 CIF Division III Southern Section Player of the Year after helping her Eagle squad to a 22-6 overall record and 2015 Division III Southern Section title in just her first season as a goalkeeper.
"Emily has only been playing one season and, in that limited time, she's really done a good job," Clapper said. "She's an all-around athlete and she's excelled at everything she's done. We're excited to get a chance to work with her and help her as a goalkeeper and to get her to the highest level."
As a junior goalkeeper at Arroyo Grande, Sonny had 18 saves, including a five-meter penalty shot, to carry the Eagles to a 6-4 victory over Martin Luther King High (Riverside) for the Division 3 CIF Southern Section title, a performance that garnered her a spot in one edition of Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd'.
Sonny added 17 saves in her team's 7-5 come-from-behind victory over Mira Costa in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
She finished the 2015 campaign with a .750 save percentage and 4.00 goal-against average. Her Arroyo Grande team completed an undefeated season to earn Pac-8 League Championship accolades and she was named a First Team All-League selection as well.
Standing 5-11, Sonny is a two-sport standout and started her athletic career at La Habra Sonora High School as a water polo and volleyball player before transferring to Arroyo Grande. In her first year on the court with the Eagles, Sonny was named Co-County Player of the Year and dubbed the team's Most Valuable Player after leading AGHS to a league championship and an undefeated record in league action.
A field player in water polo in 2013 at Sonora, Sonny was named second-team All-League and led the team with 63 goals.? Her junior season at Arroyo Grande was the first year in which she minded the cage and marked her return to the pool after spending a year away from prep water polo in 2014.
Sonny comes to the Sun Devils by way of the same Arroyo Grande program that produced current ASU senior and five-meter defender Katie Sverchek.
Maia Borisoff ?was a stat machine in 2015 as she led her Dana Hills squad to the CIF Division II Southern Section playoffs, scoring 53 goals with 50 assists, 60 steals (team lead) and 55 ejections drawn.
"Maia is tall and strong and she's the kind of player that will impact us right away at a center defender position," Clapper said. "Once we get her in the weight room, she's going to really take off as a player."
Borisoff was awarded the Defensive Player of the Year award from her coaches and was named second team South Coast All-League Selection. Borisoff also helped lead her team to the CIF-SS Division II playoffs as a freshman in 2013 ? also earning an All-League honorable mention nod - and is a four-time letter winner for water polo and adding two more as a swimmer at Dana Hills.
Borisoff comes to the Sun Devils after a productive career with the powerhouse SET Water Polo Club as well as the Laguna Beach Water Polo Club. During her club career, Borisoff helped lead her teams gold medals at the 2009 and 2014 Junior Olympics as well as silver medals at the Junior Olympics in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015.
She was named a second team Junior Olympic All-American in 2011 and 2012 and also selected to the NTSC Top-50 Olympic Development Program in 2012.
Borisoff was also a member of the 2015 SET squad that claimed the US Club Championships. An accomplished student-athlete out of the pool as well, Borisoff was named a USA Water Polo Academic All-American as well.
The 2015-16 Sun Devil squad will open the season at home beginning Friday, Jan. 22 as it hosts the Arizona State Invitational at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe, Ariz.?
