Dos Pueblos senior aquatics athlete Ava Bennett is going to compete at the next level at Pomona College.
On Monday, Bennett received the honor of Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Scholar-Athlete of Year for Dos Pueblos. She was presented the award at the SBART’s Press Luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.
Bennett competes in water polo and swimming for the Chargers. As co-captain of the water polo team, she helped DP reach the final of the Channel League Tournament and advance to the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs this past season.
She was named to the All-Channel League first team.
Bennett is a star in the classroom, too. She holds at 4.881 GPA while carrying a class load that includes Advanced Placement Chemistry, AP Statistics and Film Studies. She is a four-year member of the National Honors Society and an AP Scholar with Honors.
The daughter of Lei and Ted Bennett will continue her education and water polo career at Pomona, one of the premier liberal arts colleges in the country.
DP water polo coach Chris Parrish said Bennett is a prime example of an aquatics athlete excelling in academics.
While working toward his first master’s degree, Parrish said he did a study at Dos Pueblos on the expectations of teachers on aquatic athletes.
“It turned out that for aquatic athletes, expectations were extremely high in the classroom,” he explained. “And, it’s athletes like Ava that made that happen. She’s keeping that alive.
“She is incredible in both the classroom and the pool. Her work ethic, there isn’t a better one that I’ve seen and I’ve been coaching for quite a long time. She’s just an incredible person overall, and I’m just incredibly proud of what she’s accomplished.”
Hop Studios
You must be logged in to post a comment.