Sophomore Iefke Van Belkum became Hawai'i's first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation women's water polo Player of the Year yesterday.

UH's Michel Roy is Coach of the Year. He shared the honor last season. League coaches vote for the awards.

Van Belkum, a sophomore, plans to return to the Netherlands after next week's NCAA tournament, where the Rainbow Wahine are seeded fourth. Van Belkum will play for her national team as it attempts to qualify for the Olympics, and will be gone a second year if it gets to Beijing.

She would have two years of eligibility if she returns to UH after the 2008 Games. "By then she will be 21," Roy said, "and the best player on the planet."

Van Belkum leads UH with 65 goals and is first in the MPSF with a 2.41 goals per game average. She was MVP of last weekend's MPSF Championships, scoring 11 goals in four matches, including three in an upset of previously unbeaten USC.

UH goalie Meike De Nooy, a junior from the Netherlands, is a second-team pick after finishing second in the conference in saves, averaging 8.67 per game.

Utility Kelly Mason, a freshman from New Zealand, is an honorable mention selection and is on the All-Freshman team.