SALEM, West Virginia - Nikola Krstonosic was announced as the recipient of the Elite 90 award for the 2024 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship.The honor was announced at a awards banquet last night in Stanford, California. Krstonosic currently carries a 4.0 GPA, and has been a central piece to a highly successful WWPA Championship campaign and first ever NCAA tournament bid for Salem men's water polo. Additionally, this is the first ever Elite 90 award in Salem's history across all sports.

The Elite 90, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships.

Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above academically who have participated in a sport for at least two years with their school. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed. For more information on the Elite 90 award winners, log on to https://www.ncaa.com/elite-90.

The Salem University Athletic Department would like to congratulate Nikola and the entire men's water polo program on their historic season, and wish them the best of luck in their matchup with #1 UCLA later today.