Caltech men’s water polo head coach Jon Bonafede earned another coaching honor this week when he received recognition from the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches for Division III National Coach of the Year. He is the 12th coach to ever receive the honor since the award began in 1997 and becomes the fifth current […]
Caltech men’s water polo head coach Jon Bonafede earned another coaching honor this week when he received recognition from the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches for Division III National Coach of the Year. He is the 12th coach to ever receive the honor since the award began in 1997 and becomes the fifth current SCIAC coach to join the club.
The association also recognized freshman center Steven Csaposs (Davis, Calif. / Davis) as a Division III honorable mention. Csaposs led the Beavers with 61 goals, 70 points and 32 exclusions drawn in his first season with the team.
Bonafede and the Beavers took a huge step forward in 2017 by winning eight games in one of the team’s best seasons in recent memory. Caltech earned its first SCIAC victory since 2001 over Occidental College on Sept. 27, then went on to sweep the Tigers, first with a victory at the Gary Troyer Tournament, then with another victory in Eagle Rock. The Beavers also increased their margin of victory with each Oxy win, showcasing their growth over the course of the season.
The honor marks Bonafede’s second coaching award of the men’s season. Last month, the third-year coach received recognition from the SCAIC for the conference’s Coaching Staff of the Year honor.
The ACWPC exists to promote the development and advancement of collegiate water polo and acts as the sport’s national ranking system. All awards and recognitions are selected based on the nominations and voting by the head coaches of all Division III water polo programs.
