Aracelia Aldrete, Amelia Ayala Named Second-Team All-SCIAC for CMS Women's Water Polo

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Junior Aracelia Aldrete and sophomore Amelia Ayala earned selections on the 2019 All-SCIAC Women's Water Polo Second Team in a vote of the conference's head coaches, the league office announced today.

Aldrete earned the honor for the second year in a row for the Athenas, after scoring 25 goals to rank third on the team. She was particulary effective in conference matches, tallying 20 of her 25 goals against league foes, including a hat trick in a one-goal win over Redlands. 

Aldrete had multi-goal efforts in eight of the 14 league matches for CMS, culminating in a two-goal effort against league champion Pomona-Pitzer on April 20. She also reached the 100-goal mark for her career in an April 13 match against La Verne and will head into her senior season with 102 goals next year.

Ayala was the team leader for the Athenas in both goals and points, finishing with 32 goals and 13 assists on the season for 45 points. She had a huge game in a 10-9 comeback win over Chapman on March 30 with five goals, including four in the fourth quarter when CMS came back from 8-5 down to win it in the closing minutes.

Over the course of the season, Ayala had five hat tricks, four of which came in league play, and contributed 30 steals on the defensive end of the pool as well. Her season highlights also included the game-winning goal in the sixth extra session of a 7-6 overtime win over Toronto. 

CMS finished the 2019 campaign at 7-7 in SCIAC, just missing out on the conference tournament in the season's final week. Aldrete and Ayala will be two of the leaders expected to help get the Athenas back into the postseason next year, when the team returns its top seven goal-scorers and all three of its goalkeepers.