Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Water Polo's Kandis Canonica and Valentina Rozas Named Honorable Mention All-Americans
7/30/2010 8:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
July 30, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - For the second straight year the Bucknell women's water polo program has a pair of All-Americans. On Thursday, Kandis Canonica (Burlingame, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep) and Valentina Rozas (Pico Rivera, Calif./El Rancho) both earned Honorable Mention All-America honors from the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches. It is the third straight year Rozas was named Honorable Mention All-America, while it is Canonica's first career citation.
Bucknell has now had four different players combine for six All-America certificates since 2006. In addition to Canonica and Rozas, Meagan Gins (2006) and Aubrey Rowe (2009) were also recognized in recent years.
The only multiple-time All-America selection in program history, Rozas posted 42 goals and 34 assists this past season as she earned her fourth straight first-team all-conference nod. The 2008 CWPA Southern Division Player of the Year was third on the squad in goals, assists and points. She led the team with 62 ejections drawn and was second to fellow senior Alison Carter with 43 steals.
In 2010, Rozas registered at least one point in 26 of 27 games played. She finished the campaign with 13 multi-goal outings, including six in her last nine games played. She also drew at least two ejections in 20 of 27 games.
A four-year starter, Rozas completed her career with 331 points on 232 goals and 99 assists. She ranks second on Bucknell's career goals list, fourth in career points and sixth in career assists. Rozas also ranks in the top 10 in five other statistical categories, including first in ejections drawn (293) and shots (571).
Canonica, who will be one of two senior team co-captains in 2011 along with Meghan McNally, earned all-conference honors for the third consecutive year this past spring. She was second on the team in goals (49) and led the Bison in assists (51) and points (100). It was her third straight 100-point season, making her the first player in program history to accomplish that feat. She will enter her senior campaign third on Bucknell's career points list with 335, just 23 shy of Rowe's record.
This past year Canonica broke the program's career assists mark and now has 176, 34 more than former record-holder Adrienne Schober. Canonica posted at least one assist in 23 of 27 games and registered 15 multi-assist performances. She also tallied at least one point in all 27 games and posted 25 multi-point contests. Her season high of seven points came during a 12-10 victory over Harvard at the Eastern Championship.
Rozas and Canonica helped the Bison to a solid 17-10 record and a Southern Championships title in 2010. Bucknell finished fifth at the Eastern Championship as the program posted its fifth above-.500 finish in the last six years.
