The Big West unveiled its 2024 Women’s Water Polo Awards and All-Big West teams on Friday, with two Gauchos taking home honors.
UC Santa Barbara captain Leigh Lyter landed her first All-Big West nod, making the second team, while goalkeeper Madison Walker earned All-Big West Honorable Mention for the second year in a row.
Lyter was once again a key piece of the Gaucho attack, leading the team with 40 goals, her third straight 40-goal campaign. The Manhattan Beach native ends her collegiate career with 128 goals, the ninth most in program history.
At the other end of the pool, Lyter was one of the peskiest members of a ball-hawking Santa Barbara defense, one of three Gauchos to finish among The Big West’s top 10 in steals.
She recorded 34 swipes on the season, a career best, while getting called for just 17 exclusions. As a utility player who often played the center role in the Gaucho attack, Lyter drew 57 exclusions on the other end of the pool, a team high.
Walker had every case to join Lyter on the all-conference second team this season, ranking second in The Big West in every goalkeeper-specific stat.
She made 200 saves for the second season in a row, tallying a career-best 221 stops with a .533 save percentage. Both those numbers ranked second among Big West goalies, as did her 8.05 goals-against average.
Walker also ranked third in the conference with a team-high 42 steals on the year, the most by a Big West goalie. For the second season in a row, she had eight double-digit save performances.