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California Golden Bears Athletics
Johnny Hooper Named MPSF Player Of The Week
10/1/2018 5:06 PM | Men's Water Polo
Cal Senior Helps Lead Way To Wins Over UC Irvine, Pepperdine
BERKELEY – A pair of strong all-around performances in wins over No. 11-ranked Pepperdine and No. 13 UC Irvine helped land Cal men's water polo senior Johnny Hooper his first weekly award with Monday's announcement that the Bears' co-captain has been named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Player of the Week.
Playing just his second full weekend with the Bears after returning from international duty with Team USA, Hooper filled the stat sheet to help Cal earn a 15-9 win over the host Anteaters and a 13-11 victory over the Waves in Malibu. On Saturday in Irvine, he scored four goals to lead Cal's goal count but also contributed in several other ways, finishing with a season-high seven assists, three steals and four ejections earned.
One day later, Hooper was at it again as he again led Cal in scoring with four goals. He also added three assists, six steals and a field block to help push the Bears' record to 12-1.
In just four matches this season, Hooper has compiled a gaudy overall stat line of 20 goals, 16 assists, 12 steals, eight ejections earned and two field blocks. In the process, he passed head coach Kirk Everist for fourth on Cal's all-time scoring list and with 216 goals he sits just two behind John Mann for third.
Hooper becomes the third Cal player to earn MPSF Player of the Week honors this season, joining fellow senior co-captain Vassilis Tzavaras and junior Safak Simsek. All three will be back in action alongside their Golden Bear teammates when Cal takes part in the MPSF Invitational at Stanford from Oct. 12-14. Start times and opponents for the three-day tournament will be announced next week.
