Super Summer Recaps Of All The Great Action VOLUME 35,23, NUMBER 33, FALL 2008 Terry SchroederAcademic Leads All-American the Men’s List National Inside Team to Gold. What’s Inside... VOL. 23, NUM. 3, FALL 2008 SWEET SHOT! USA WATER POLO NATIOnaL OFFICE United States’ Brittany Hayes reects on winning ON THE COVER . 2124 Main Street, Suite 210 the gold in Beijing. Huntington Beach, CA 92648 A collage of all the Inside Water. 2 (714) 500-5445 business summer action Score (714) 500-5449 membership Super SummerRecaps Of All The Great Action Cover photos courtesy of (714) 960-2431 fax US Presswire/MAC Photo Design/ George Stransky/Simone La Pay National Team Update . 6 USA WATER POLO NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER with funky 11360 Valley Forge Ave. Los Alamitos, CA 90720 , NUMBER 3 VOLUME 35 In the Club. 18 (562) 799-8506 business ® (562) 799-8508 fax Terry SchroederAcademic LeadsAll-American the Men’s List National Inside Team to Gold. Flipturns ! WEB SITE 5 Meters. 21 www.usawaterpolo.org CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Christopher Ramsey In the Area. 26 EXECUTIVE AssISTanT TO THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Chelsea Johnson Calendar of Events. 28 CONTROLLER Ulises Sam DIRECTOR OF PLannIng and ADMINISTRATION Susan Warner Hopkins Also In This Issue... DIRECTOR OF MaRKETIng and COMMunICATIOns Christine Bird DIRECTOR OF OLYMPIC DEVELOPMENT Academic All-Americans . 4 Guy Baker MEDIA RELATIOns ManagER S&R Junior Olympics . 12 Greg Mescall DIRECTOR OF REGIOnaL SPORT DEVELOPMENt (EasT) Liz Grimes Hot Shots . 20 States include: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, 2008 Olympic Games Summary Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. DIRECTOR OF REGIOnaL SPORT DEVELOPMENt (CENTRAL) Joe Linehan Beijing ‘08 States include: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Indiana, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. pg NATIOnaL TEAMS ManagER Re-Cap 8 Nikki Jost MEMBERSHIP SERVICES COORDInaTOR Drew Willems Look Ahead... BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bradford Bowlus, Michael Graff (Chairman), Lynn Kachmarik, Jeremy Laster, Ed Reynolds, Rachel Scott, William Smith Next Issue >Speedo Cup: An Inside Look EDITOR Greg Mescall CONTRIbuTORS Darcy Couch, Paulo Cesar, Todd Clapper, Chris Oeding, >Speedo Top 40 Review Jason Lynch, Mary Sprague, Jim Cullingham, Mary Pat Robinson, Joan Gould, Ed Haas, Greg Mitre, Lisa Reyes, Carroll Vaughan, James Lathrop, Summit Photography, Sally Olds, Jeff Shewmon, Tracy Birdsell, Kevin Burke, Anderson Family, Pete Snyder, Fotos FPN, Fotos Hugo Rocha, Mirko Seifert, Rise Wendt, Michael Duffy, Holy Kiki, Gwen Golub, Michael Machnik, George Stransky, Mike Miller, Stan Schwimer, Allen Lorentzen, Karina Cordisco, Stuart Sheldon, Mark Lefkow, Simone La Pay PRINTING Publication Printers 2001 S. Platte River Dr., Denver, CO 80223 | 303-936-0303 CREATIVE Adrenalin, Inc. Masters 54 West 11th Ave., Denver, CO 80204 303-454-8888 | goadrenalin.com 2008Moments Summary of Masters Tournament USA Water Polo Skip Shot Magazine (ISSN# 00431311) is published four times per year by United States Water Polo, Inc., located at 2124 Main Street, Suite 210, LAUREN WENGER / 2008 Olympian in Palm Daze / Orchid Huntington Beach, CA 92648. Periodicals postage is paid at pg Colorado Springs, CO 80901-9998 and additional mailing offices. 16 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Skip Shot Magazine, United States Water Polo, Inc., 2124 Main Street, Suite 210, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 usawaterpolo.org 1 60248_USAWPOLO.1.indd 1 8/14/08 3:38:20 PM letter from the CEO, Christopher Ramsey USA WATER POLO INSIDE WATER Olympic Achievements Aplenty This was the summer that USA Water Polo made history. Prior And although we lost to Hungary in the Gold Medal game, we played to the summer Games in Beijing, no nation had ever done more them even for much of the game. All in all, the Olympics represented one than combine for a Silver and Bronze medal in both men’s and of the most inspiring performances ever by our men. women’s water polo in the same Olympics. With Silver medal Our women led by veteran Brenda Villa continued their incredible play performances by both our men’s and women’s teams, we estab- earning once again a trip to the Olympic Games gold medal match. Dur- lished a new level of achievement in international water polo. ing the eight years that women’s water polo has been an Olympic sport, no team has played at a high level more consistently than our women. There were plenty of subplots. Would 80’s Olympic captain Terry Schroeder, now in the role of head coach, be able to guide the men’s This Olympics boasted more of the same, the team won their group team to their first medal in 20 years? Would the women, the 2007 World posting an undefeated record in three games as they dispatched of China, Champions and under the guidance of Guy Baker, be able to fulfill their dueled to a draw with Italy, and trounced the once pre-Olympic favorite quest and win an Olympic gold medal? in Russia. From there it was on to the semi-finals where rival Australia was waiting and in their greatest win of these Games the United States The men’s journey was in many ways the most intriguing, because they pulled out a last second victory over the ladies from down under. had the furthest to ascend. Finishing the 2007 year ranked ninth in the world, a new coaching staff led by Schroeder emphasized sound In the end, we came up short to the Netherlands by the sliver of a last- fundamentals, superior conditioning and an uncompromising commit- minute goal. Still, we earned our third straight Olympic medal, some- ment to team defense. During the course of the year leading up to the thing no other nation has achieved in women’s water polo. Games, Schroeder emphasized training against the world’s best, singling One water polo enthusiast wrote to me shortly after the Games concluded, out Serbia, Croatia and Hungary, as well as an up-and-coming Australian summing up what I hope many of us felt: national team. This strategy, coupled with a relentlessly positive message and emphasis on teamwork, showed early signs of success at the FINA “This sport that we love has been defibrillated and you are all directly World League Championships in Italy, where we won a silver medal. But responsible! could we do it in the world’s biggest arena? New athletes and fans have been intrigued and brought to the door and During the Games, our men had to confront one nemesis after another. current disciples have been validated and rejuvenated. We adopted and Who can forget the early game against Italy, which we pulled out in the cheered your teams, cursed their opponents, scrutinized the officials, and final minute? Or the rematch with Radko Rudic and his 2007 World cried every type of tear imaginable - right along with them. Championship team from Croatia, which we beat 7-5 to signal that our We’re proud of you, and because of you, we can all be proud of our own team was indeed a genuine threat to win a medal. Still, the Croatia win efforts to support the growth of our sport. Please pass these thoughts led to Germany, whose brilliant goaltender, Alexander Tchigir, had frus- to your athletes as they ponder their experiences - the impact of their trated USA hopes many times before. With one of our most consistent examples is more far-reaching than they can possibly comprehend.” performances, we moved past Germany 8-7 to advance directly to the medal round by winning our bracket. Having already lost to Serbia 4-2 in the preliminary round and not hav- ing beaten them for many years in international competition, Team USA would have a chance for revenge in the semi-finals. The USA beat Serbia going away in arguably our best game of the tournament—if not the last 20 years of men’s Olympic water polo. Merrill Moses played like a goalkeeper possessed, swatting away everything in sight, and offensive contributions came from everyone on the team. It was an unforgettable moment in our history. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR If you have a comment or question concerning Skip Shot magazine, send in a letter to the editor. You can write to Skip Shot Magazine: c/o USA Water Polo, 2124 Main Street, Suite 210, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 or send an email to: [email protected] 2 USA Water Polo Name Club: 4.0 + Student Name Club: 4.0 + Student Emily Jensen Greenwich WP Carlyn Robertson LAWPC 4.0+ Chloe Johnson La Mirada Armada Rebecca Robinson Kingfish WP 4.0+ Academic All-Americans Laura Karbach Greenwich WP 4.0+ Bernie Rogers San Diego Shores Name Club: 4.0 + Student Name Club: 4.0 + Student Delaney Keane Nordic WP 4.0+ Cray Rogers Chehelam Alexandra Adamson Coronado Aquatics 4.0+ Collin Danaher Trojan WPC 4.0+ Julie Kelleher Nordic WP 4.0+ Will Roller De Anza Carlos Alonso- Torras Florida Coast WP 4.0+ Theodor Danciv Pacific NW United 4.0+ Daniel Kelly Greenwich WP 4.0+ Michael Rooney West Suburban 4.0+ Daisy Anderson NorCal 4.0+ Courtney Darr Tigard/Tualatin WP 4.0+ Suzanne Kelly Riverside WPC 4.0+ Lexie Ross SET 4.0+ Cody Ankrim Sacramento WP 4.0+ Cory Desautels Diablo WP 4.0+ Jonathan Kern Raider WP 4.0+ Paul Rudolph Stanford WP Kenneth Appel Riverside WPC 4.0+ Erin Dickson Houston WPC 4.0+ Riley Kessler LAWPC 4.0+ Jack Ruth Kingfish WP 4.0+ Alexandra Armour Saint Andrews 4.0+ Christie Disilvestro Tiger Aquatics Club 4.0+ Matt Kochalko Carlsbad WP Courtney Sandlin NorCal 4.0+ Alex Avery Stanford WP Kevin Disilvestro