Table of contents Quick Facts About USA Water Polo: . 2 U.S. MEN’S WATER POLO Head Coach – Terry Schroeder 4th year (Pepperdine) Media Information: . 3 Assistant Coach – Robert Lynn 4th year (USC) Assistant Coach - Marco Palazzo 2nd year (Italian NT) Social Media ..........................4 Team Leader – Rick McKee (Anderson) TRAINING FACILITY About USA Water Polo ............. 5 California Lutheran University 60 West Olsen Road Men’s Outlook/Preview: . 6-7 Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 Women’s Outlook/Preview: . 8-9 OLYMPIC APPEARANCES – 20 BEST OLYMPIC FINISH – Gold Medal 2012 Schedules: . .. 10-11 (1904 St. Louis, Missouri) BEST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINISH – 4th Place National Teams at a Glance: . 12-13 (1986 Madrid, Spain, 1991 Perth, Australia, 2009 Rome, Italy) All-Time Finishes: . .14-17 CURRENT WORLD RANKING - 6th (Since 2011) HIGHEST WORLD RANKING – 2nd (2009) Men’s National Team ROSTER BREAKDOWN Goalkeeper - 3 Men’s Coaching Staff: . 20-21 Attacker/Utility - 6 Defender - 7 Men’s 2012 Roster: . 22-23 Center – 4 Men’s Bios: . 24-52 U.S WOMEN’S WATER POLO Head Coach – Adam Krikorian 3rd year (UCLA) Women’s National Team Assistant Coaches – Dan Klatt 2nd year (UC-Irvine) Heather Moody 2nd year (San Diego State) Women’s Coaching Staff: . .56-57 Team Leader – Jen Adams (UC-Irvine) TRAINING FACILITY Women’s 2012 Roster: . .58-59 USA Water Polo National Training Center 11360 Valley Forge Avenue Women’s Bios: . 60-84 Los Alamitos, CA 90720 Introduction to Water Polo: . .86 OLYMPIC APPEARANCES – 3 BEST OLYMPIC FINISH – Silver Medal Understanding Water Polo: . 87-88 (2000 Sydney, Australia and 2008 Beijing, China) BEST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINISH – Gold Medal Glossary of Terms: . .89-90 (2003 Barcelona, Spain, 2007 Melbourne, Australia, 2009 Rome, Italy) Board of Directors: . 91 CURRENT WORLD RANKING – 6th (Since 2011) USA Water Polo Staff: . .91 HIGHEST WORLD RANKING – 1st (Multiple occasions) ROSTER BREAKDOWN National Team Television Goalkeeper 3 All-Around 1 Spotter Chart: . 92-95 Attacker 7 Defender 7 Center 2 MEDIA GUIDE CREDITS This media guide was assembled and edited by Greg Mescall with assistance from Jennifer Ross and Eric Velazquez. Photos courtesy of Jeff Shewmon, Kirby Lee, US Presswire, Kelley L. Cox, Allen Lorentzen, Tiffany Shine, Michael Larsen and Mai Lam. 1 About USA Water Polo USA Water Polo, Inc. is a not-for- 20+, 30+, 40+, 45+, 50+, 55+, and 60+ age categories for men. Women contest in the profit corporation that serves as the 20+, 30+, 40+, 50+, and 55+ age groups. national governing body for the US Leagues sport of water polo in the United US Leagues is a program of States under authority of the United USA Water Polo designed to States Olympic Committee. provide a low cost, entry-level membership for water polo athletes and coaches of all Mission Statement ages and skill levels. All US The Mission of USA Water Polo shall be to grow League athletes, coaches and referees receive the the sport of water polo throughout the United basic benefits provided to all USA Water Polo States and win medals in Olympic, World Members for the duration of the league. Championship, and Pan American Games. This program is a flexible platform for water polo Check out some great programs USA Water Polo groups throughout the country to provide safe, is operating in communities all over the country. insured, supervised water polo programming for For more information visit all ages and playing levels. www.usawaterpolo.org. Olympic Development Program Splashball The mission of USA Water Splashball is designed to in- Polo’s Olympic Development troduce the sport of water Program is to unify the polo to children 5-9 years old. American system of play and The intent is to provide basic increase the number of ath- skills and understanding of the letes, coaches and referees in sport in a recreational format. the system with an emphasis on long term Although water polo is known for its toughness improvement. The program serves as the entry and endurance, Splashball harnesses all the fun, into USAWP Olympic Development Pipeline and dynamic aspects of the game in a safe, easy to offers incentives for USAWP athletes, coaches and learn aquatic experience that will motivate kids to referees to compete for inclusion and advance- swim and stay fit. To find a Splashball program ment. Once accepted into the Olympic Develop- near you or to learn more visit ment Program, athletes, coaches and referees will www.splashballusa.org. be taught the American System of Water Polo. Masters Water Polo U.S. Navy SEALs Fitness Challenge USAWP supports and pro- SEALs Fitness Challenges are currently being of- motes competition and events fered to water polo clubs among its members domesti- nationwide. The SEALs cally and internationally. Fitness Challenge Membership in Masters Water includes the following Polo is available to anyone tasks in a timed environ- age 20 and older. Each year dozens of tourna- ment: 500 yard swim, push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, ments are held throughout the US highlighted by and a 1.5 mile run. USA Water Polo member the USA Water Polo Masters National Champi- clubs taking the Challenge are able to compare onships each June. Champions are crowned in their results, via an online database, to all other Challenge participants. Member clubs receive additional benefits for SEALs Fitness Challenge participation. Email [email protected] for more information or to get your club signed up for a SEALs Fitness Challenge. 2 Media Information USA Water Polo athletes and coaches are available to media following approval of the USA Water Polo Communications office. To request availability please contact: Greg Mescall / Associate Director of Communications phone: 714-500-5455 email: [email protected] secondary email: [email protected] Jennifer Rottenberg / CMO phone: 714-500-5438 email: [email protected] USA Water Polo is active in a variety of social media. Be sure to find us on the following: Facebook – www.facebook.com/usawp Twitter – www.twitter.com/usawp Youtube – www.youtube.com/usawp ustream – www.ustream.tv/usawp www.usawaterpolo.org is the official website of USA Water Polo. Find game recaps, roster infor- mation and more at www.usawaterpolo.org. Download The Counter Attack with Greg Mescall podcast released bi-monthly free on iTunes. 3 Social Media Men’s National Team Women’s National Team On Twitter On Twitter Tony Azevedo - @WaterPoloTony Betsey Armstrong - @BetsArmstrong1 Shea Buckner - @SheaBuckner Annika Dries - @AnniDries Chay Lapin - @ChayLapin Courtney Mathewson - @CLKMathewson John Mann - @BearMann4 Heather Petri - @PeteIsAGirl Merrill Moses - @MerrillMoses Lolo Silver - @lolosilver Andy Steves - @ImAndyStevens Maggie Steffens - @MaggieSteffens Jeff Tyrrell - @JTyrrell14 Brenda Villa - @Brenda4Villa Peter Varellas - @PVarellas 4 About USA Water Polo USA Water Polo Goals • Win gold medals in the sport of water • Develop materials and instructional polo at the Summer Olympic Games, programs to develop individual skills of UANA Pan American Games, Federation athletes, coaches, trainers, managers, Internationale de Natation (“FINA”) World administrators, and officials. Championships, and other international competitions. • Communicate the activities of the sport of water polo throughout the United States • Expand dramatically the number of to the USA Water Polo membership athletes in the sport of water polo by and to the public. providing programs for participation for all age and skill levels, for both genders, • Establish and ensure consistent for handicapped individuals, and for standards of quality for all official events minorities. of USA Water Polo. • Through United States Aquatic Sports, • Review quadrennially at the Annual Inc. (“USAS”), maintain membership and Meeting in the year after the Summer the highest possible standing and position Olympic Games the goals of USA Water of influence in FINA, the international Polo by the Board of Directors. sports federation that governs the sport of water polo in the Summer Olympic Games and the Amateur Sports Union of the Americas (“ASUA”), the sports federation that governs the sport of water polo in the UANA Pan American Games. 5 Men’s Outlook & Preview nears the close of a full quad- further cemented with a first-ever trip to the medal rennial since the USA men’s round of the FINA World League Super as Team USA 2012 remarkable 2008 run that saw claimed the Silver. It all came to fruition on a podium in “a return to the podium” move from mantra to reality. Beijing, China, as Team USA took Silver Medals following With Olympic Silver Medals around their necks, the a hard-fought loss in the Gold Medal match against the Men’s Senior National Team and Head Coach Terry Hungarians. Schroeder have found that opponents aren’t taking It was the squad’s first Olympic medal of any color them lightly. in 20 years. They’ve also updated their battle cry to reflect their This year’s team will carry 18 athletes on their collective desire to become the best USA Water Polo training roster, eventually cutting down to an official 13 team ever. members for the Olympics (along with a yet-to-be- On the brink of medals at the FINA World Champi- determined number of alternates). onships in 2009 and FINA World Cup in 2010, the The coaching staff remains largely intact also with squad has fallen just short of recapturing the glory of Schroeder’s return, along with tactical assistant Robert Beijing. Lynn and team leader Rick McKee. Assistant Coach In 2011, the men also took one step back before Marco Palazzo, a veteran of the Italian Water Polo taking one essential step forward. Last year’s FINA professional league, joined the team in the summer of World Championships in Shanghai, China, saw the 2011. squad regress to pre-2008 caliber with a sixth-place Team captain Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, showing.