Claremont, Calif. (January 26, 2018)—Pitzer College alumna and Sagehens MVP Alyssa Woodward ’15 has rejoined her former team as an assistant coach with the Pomona-Pitzer Athletics Women’s Water Polo program. Woodward brings her experience as a coach and an All-American water polo player to the Sagehens.
“I am extremely excited to be back in action with the Women’s Water Polo team,” Woodward said. “I hope I can make an impact on the team like my Pomona-Pitzer coaches had on me.”
Woodward’s decorated career as a student-athlete comes full circle with her return to Pomona-Pitzer Athletics. A studio art major and mathematics minor, Woodward helped lead the Women’s Water Polo team to four straight SCIAC Championships. Along the way, she won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s top awards, from SCIAC Newcomer of the Year in 2012 to Athlete of the Year in 2015. The Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches also named her Division III Women’s Water Polo Player of the Year.
Alyssa Woodward ’15 in action as a member of the Sagehen Women’s Water Polo team.
A utility player, Woodward was an NCAA Division III first-team All-American who led the Sagehens in scoring during all four years, finishing her career with 318 goals. She was named the female MVP at the Pomona-Pitzer Athletics Awards in 2015 and won Pitzer’s Daley Award for Athletic Achievement the same year.
Her coaching career highlights include working with the Foothill Club Water Polo Team where she took the 18-and-under team to a top-10 finish in the 2017 Junior Olympics and the 16-and-under team to the 2016 USA Water Polo Junior Olympics. In addition to serving as an assistant coach for the Los Osos High School varsity girls water polo team and the Chaffey Junior College women’s water polo program, Woodward worked with the Dolphins Water Polo Club girls team in Perth, Australia.
Woodward most recently served as a head coach for the Claremont High School freshmen boys’ water polo team and assistant coach for the boys’ junior varsity and varsity team. During her tenure as an assistant coach, she helped the CHS varsity team win its first California Interscholastic Federation title in program history.
The Sagehens Women’s Water Polo is entering the spring season ranked No. 1 in the SCIAC’s 2018 preseason poll after winning the SCIAC Women’s Water Polo Championship last year. The Sagehens’ regular season kicks off this weekend with games against Concordia University and USC at the Lancer Invitational in Riverside, CA.
The Sagehens Women’s Water Polo also hired two other assistant coaches: Ashley Harren, who served as an assistant coach with Chaffey College’s women’s water polo team, and Candice Vorbeck, who has coached with Foothill Club Water Polo.
Woodward is looking forward to a new opportunity to help lead the Sagehens, this time from the deck, not the water.
“Coming back to coach alongside Head Coaches Alex Rodriguez and Alex La is going to make for a great season,” Woodward said.
