SAN DIEGO – San Diego State water polo has signed four California products to National Letters of Intent to compete for the Aztecs beginning in the 2022-23 school year. Head coach Carin Crawford made the announcement on Tuesday.
The four are goalies Molly Blosser and Mandy Lagerlof as well as a pair of attackers, Sydney Gish and Shannon Murphy.
Blosser will graduate from Agoura High school in Agoura Hills, Calif., this spring. In her three previous seasons, two as the starting goalie for the varsity team and one as the JV starter, she has made 514 saves, had 50 assists and 32 steals.
Last season as the team's starting goalie, in an eight game COVID-19 shortened season, she had 108 saves, 14 assists and eight steals, and earned the Aguora High School Varsity Athletic Award.
In her sophomore campaign, she was named the Coastal Canyon League Goalie of the Year and a first-team all-league selection, as well as a third-team All-CIF Southern Section Division 2 performer. She stopped a career-high 328 shots, assisted on 24 goals and had 17 steals in 27 contests. The team finished the year 21-10 overall and reached the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 semifinal.
As a freshman on the JV team, she started eight varsity games where she totaled 78 saves, had 12 assists and seven steals and earned the Aguora High School Varsity Athletic Award. The team was undefeated and won the Marmonte League.
Blosser's club experience includes competing for the Los Angeles Water Polo Club (2015-17) where, as a member of the 14U team, she was part of squads which placed fifth in the Classic Division and 22nd in the Platinum Division at the Junior Olympics in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Also in 2017, she was a Cadet ODP Nick Johnson Inspiration Award winner. As a member of South Coast Aquatics since 2017, she has competed in the Junior Olympics twice. In 2018 her 16U team earned a fifth-place finish in the Gold Division and in 2019 a second-place finish in the same division. In 2020-21 she attended the ODP Coastal Zone Youth Camp and was a member of the 2021 Coastal Zone team.
"Molly has excellent size, positioning and can lead the counter attack with her accurate passing," Coach Crawford said. "We're thrilled to have added her to next year's team."
Lagerlof will graduate from Irvine (Calif.) High School in May. She has competed for Irvine for the past three seasons, highlighted by a 2020 first-team All-Pacific Coast League honor. She has competed for SoCal Water Polo from the age of 16 and has participated in the Junior Olympics in 2021 and attended the 2019 Navy Water Polo Camp in Annapolis.
Lagerlof has been an honor roll student in each of the last three years and earned Academic All-American status in both 2020 and 2021.
"Mandy has all the tools to become an elite goalkeeper," Crawford said. "She has experience with SoCal Water Polo, one of the most elite clubs in the nation. Her upside is tremendous, and we are looking forward to having her join our program."
Gish will graduate from Clovis (Calif.) West High School in May. In the past two seasons, she had to sit out her freshman season after transferring to Clovis West, she has twice been a first-team All-Tri-River League performer. In her sophomore campaign, the team was 21-11 and earned a share of the league title. Gish was a first-team CIF Central Section honoree, garnered selection in the 2019 all-star game and was a second team NISCA High School All-American. Last year, in a shortened season, she was named the team MVP. This year Clovis West is 25-7 and 10-0 in league play.
From 2016 to 2018, as a member of the Royal 559 Water Polo Academy, Gish was twice named a Junior Olympics All-American (2016 & 2018) and in 2016, in the 12U Division of the Junior Olympics, her team finished in ninth place. In 2017 and 2018, her 14U teams finished in 17th and 11th places, respectively.
Gish has been a member of the ODP Central team for the past six years. In 2017, 2018 and 2019 she participated in the National Team Selection Camp. She competed on the National Cadet Futures Team in Barcelona, Spain in 2019 and earned the Cadet ODP Nick Johnson Inspiration Award in the same year. In 2016 she competed in the USA Water Polo Holiday Camp and garnered the Development ODP Nick Johnson Inspiration Award.
"Following in the footsteps of Aztec greats such as Anna Gonzales and Erinn Greenwood, Sydney continues our tradition of drawing talent from the Central Valley," Crawford said. "She has speed and dynamic movement and will help us continue to establish our transition attack. Sydney has a growth mindset and is committed to developing her game as an Aztec."
Murphy will graduate from Miramonte High School in Orinda, Calif., this year, where the team is undefeated (25-0) and won the North Coast Section title this past weekend. The team is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, according to Maxpreps.com. Last season Miramonte went 10-0 and won the Diablo-Foothill league and the year prior to that was 20-6.
She has played for Lamorinda Water Polo Club where she is a three-time Pacific Zone Red Team selection. In 2020, as a member of the Lamorinda 16U A team, she won the NorCal Cal Cup qualifier and the team was expected to be strong contenders at Cal Cup State Finals, U.S. Club Championships, and the Junior Olympics. As part of the 14U A team, in 2018, she finished in eighth place at the Junior Olympics and this year is competing for the 18U squad.
With a 3.9 GPA at Miramonte, she has garnered three USA Water Polo Academic All-American honors. Her sister is a former water polo player at UC Santa Barbara and her father competed at Cal.
"Shannon is an accomplished utility player who is among the elite athletes out of Miramonte High School and the Lamorinda Club," Crawford said. "She's been fortunate to have great coaches like USA Olympic water polo legend Guy Baker, so she knows what it takes to play at the highest level."
-SDSU-