Megan Thomson enters hersixth season as the head coach of the Pacific women’s waterpolo team in 2012. She became the third coach in theprogram’s 17-year history on May 5, 2006, and has engineeredan impressive rebuilding effort that saw the Tigers claim theirfirst-ever conference title in 2010 and finish with back-to-back20-win seasons in 2010 and 2011.
Thomson led the Orangeand Black to its second consecutive 20-win season in 2011, guidingPacific to a 21-12 mark and a fifth-place finish at the Big WestTournament. The Tigers ripped off a six-game winning streak earlyin the year, including a sweep of the Princeton Invitational onFebruary 12 and 13. Pacific also dominated the Lancer Invite, goingundefeated in four matches over March 18 and 19. The Tigers endedthe regular season winning three consecutive matches, including a6-5 road win over conference foe UC Davis. The Big West Tournamentsaw Pacific defeat host UC Santa Barbara 6-4 in its final match ofthe year. Under Thomson’s tutelage, Dara Tawarahara earnedher second All-America selection in as many seasons. Tawarahara wasalso a First Team All-Big West selection while Mandy King andMichele Relton earned Honorable Mention All-Big West honors. EliseMartin was selected the Big West’s Player of the Week onMarch 17 after recording 10 goals, seven assists, three steals, andfive field blocks in four matches as part of the Aztec Invitationalon March 12 and 13. Out of the pool, Tawarahara, Siobhan Larsen,Melissa Loper, Meara McCarthy, and Bethany Quertermous earned BigWest All-Academic honors while Kim Kay, Allison King, MicheleRelton, and Elise Martin, along with Quertermous, Larsen, Loper,Tawarahara, McCarthy, and Loper, received Association of CollegiateWater Polo Coaches All-Academic recognition. Pacific’s teamGPA of 3.48 was tied for the ninth-best team GPA in the nation.
During Pacific’ssecond season of of Big West membership, Thomson led the Tigers toprogram milestones in wins (24) and single-season saves (290).Pacific opened the year going 3-2 at the NorCal Invite January 29through January 31 while the Tigers’ 9-4 win over ColoradoState on February 14 ignited a 13-game winning streak that sawPacific ascend to as high as No. 16 nationally. Under Thomson’s direction, the Tigers secured the top seed at theBig West Tournament after going undefeated in the final weekend ofleague play. The Orange and Black upset then-No. 10 Cal StateNorthridge 8-7 in sudden-victory overtime on April 17 before edgingUC Santa Barbara 13-9 the following day. Pacific went 1-1 at theconference tournament, defeating UC Santa Barbara 7-5 to claimthird place. Thomson coached Tawarahara to her first-everAll-America honor while Brooke Millar, Jasmine Myles, Bridget Geck,and Tawarahara earned All-Big West recognition. Pacific had a trioof Big West All-Academic selections in Courtney Boettger, CatherineCollett, and Quertermous.
As a member of the newlyformed Big West Conference in 2009, Thomson coached the Tigers to a9-25 mark and a 4-3 victory over league foe UC Santa Barbara onMarch 29. Pacific found itself in numerous close games throughoutthe year as 17 of its 34 matches were decided by three goals orfewer. Thomson saw Tawarahara earn First Team All-Big West honorsat the conclusion of the season, marking the first conference awardfor a Tiger since the 2007 campaign. Boettger, Collett, andQuertermous, along with Alexandra Kutac and Jessica Safir, werenamed to the Big West All-Academic Team while Quertermous,Boettger, Safir, and Kutac earned ACWPC All-Academicrecognition.
In its last year ofMountain Pacific Sports Federation membership, Pacific’s 2008campaign saw the Tigers finish the year at 4-27 behind a rosterthat featured nine underclassmen. The Orange and Black had animpressive 19-2 win over Fresno Pacific on February 17 and were in12 matches that were decided by three goals or fewer. Earning MPSFAll-Academic honors were Kutac, Safir, Kellie Fletcher, andVirginia McConnell. Quertermous, Collett, Safir, Boettger,McCarthy, and Fletcher, along with Scarlett Eisenhauer, TaylorSutton, Kate Casey, and Jill Hauck, were selected to the ACWPCAll-Academic Team.
The 2007 season markedThomson’s first year on the deck. Inheriting a squad that wasvictorious in just six of its last 49 matches, Thomson reshaped theTigers with a young group that featured seven freshmen and only onesenior. Pacific finished the year with a 5-25 mark that includedback-to-back wins over Occidental and Cal State Monterey Bay onMarch 3. Thomson coached Sarah Harris to Honorable Mention MPSF andMPSF All-Freshman Team honors. Eisenhauer, Fletcher, McConnell, andCatrina Nishimura were named to the MPSF All-Academic team.
Thomson was brought toPacific after four successful seasons as an assistant coach atHartwick College, where she helped lead the Hawks to a pair ofappearances in the NCAA Championships. She guided the team to itsfirst-ever NCAA appearance in 2004 before repeating the feat in2006. In her time as an assistant, Hartwick compiled a record of112-40 and were Collegiate Water Polo Association Northern Divisionchampions each season. The 2004 group set a school record with 33wins.
Thomson starred atHartwick from 2001 to 2002, leading the team to a 47-23 record, twoCWPA Northern Division titles, two CWPA New York Regionchampionships, and one Eastern College Athletic Conference title.She led the Hawks to a runner-up finish at the 2002 CWPAChampionships, falling to Michigan 7-6 in sudden-victory overtime.Hartwick would have advanced to the NCAA Championships had theyemerged victorious. Thomson was named to the ACWPC All-America Teameach year and was twice recognized as the CWPA Northern DivisionPlayer of the Year. Academically, Thomson earned AWPCA All-Academichonors in both of her seasons with the Hawks. She finished herplaying career with 234 points, good for eighth all-time inHartwick history. Her 182 career goals ranks fifth while her 180drawn ejections ranks third. Hartwick named Thomson its FemaleAthlete of the Year in 2001 and 2002. She was inducted into thecollege’s Athletic Hall of Fame on October 12, 2002.
A native of Wellington,New Zealand, Thomson played for her country at the 2001 FINA WorldChampionships in Japan where she finished among the top 20 goalscorers in the tournament. She was the captain of the New ZealandDevelopment Team in 2000 and played on her country’s Under-20National Team from 1996 to 1999. Thomson was also the co-captain ofNew Zealand’s Senior National Team at the Commonwealth GameChampionships in Perth, Australia, in January 2006, finishing witha bronze medal. In 2003, she captained the national squad at theOlympic Qualification Series and was a member of the group thatcompeted in the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Italy.
Thomson earned herbachelor’s degree in business in 2002 from Hartwick. In 2008,she graduated from the NCAA Women’s Coaches. Academy. Sheresides in Stockton, Calif.
