Molly Smith had an outstanding four-year career as a member of Pacific’s women’s water polo team, earning four letters from 1997 to 2000. She earned the program’s first-ever Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches All-America award in 1997, and would receive ACWPC All-America recognition twice more in her outstanding career.
The program’s first-ever scholarship player, Smith came to Pacific from Eugene, Oregon, where she earned first team All-America honors at Sheldon High School. In her first season in Stockton, she led the Tigers to their first 10-win season, a mark that would not be matched until 2005, as Pacific finished the year ranked 13th in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Poll. She racked up 85 scores as a freshman, highlighted by a school-record nine-goal outing versus UC Santa Cruz, en route to earning Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Northern Division First Team honors.
Smith, the school’s all-time leading scorer with 286 career goals, led the Tigers in scoring in each of her four years in Stockton, earning All-Conference honors each season. She was also a Regional Qualification All-Tournament Second Team selection as a junior. She is Pacific’s only three-time ACWPC All-America selection in the program’s 17-year history, and is one of only four players to eclipse 200 career goals.
In the classroom, Smith was a four-time Big West Scholar Athlete and graduated with a degree in business administration in 2000. She played professional water polo for the Cronulla Sharks in Sydney, Australia, before becoming an elementary school teacher from 2005-2009.
