COACHING STAFF ADAM WRIGHT HEAD COACH • 1st Year Alma Mater: UCLA ’01 Adam Wright begins his first season as UCLA’s head men’s water polo coach in 2009. A former standout in the pool at UCLA and on the U.S. Olympic Team, Wright was named the fourth head coach in program history on June 3, 2009. A four-year letterwinner at UCLA (1997-2000), Wright led the Bruins to back-to- back NCAA titles in 1999 and 2000. Following his collegiate career, Wright served as a key member on the U.S. National Team, participating in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics for Team USA. He helped lead the U.S. to a seventh-place finish at the 2004 Olympics (Athens) and to the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics (Beijing). Wright served as an assistant coach with the UCLA men’s and women’s water polo teams during the 2008-09 school year. He helped guide the women’s program to an unprecedented fifth consecutive NCAA championship in May 2009. Following the 2008 men’s water polo season, Wright played an integral role in securing the top men’s recruiting class in the nation. In addition, Wright served as an assistant coach with the varsity boys and girls water polo programs at Wilson High School (Long Beach, Calif.) from 2001-04. He helped coach the boys program to four consecutive CIF Division I championships and Moore League titles. Wright coached the girls team to two Moore League titles and two CIF Division I quarterfinal playoff appearances. As a senior at UCLA in 2000, Wright scored 39 goals before earning honorable mention All-America acclaim and second-team All-MPSF honors. In 1999, he secured third-team All-America and second-team All-MPSF honors after having led the Bruins in assists (27) and ranked second on the team in goals scored (46), total points (48) and steals (39). In his first two seasons, he scored 43 goals – 26 as a freshman and 27 as a sophomore. He gained second-team All-America honors in 1998 and was named an honorable mention All-America and All-MPSF selection as a freshman in 1997. Wright graduated from UCLA in 2001 with degrees in history and sociology. Following his collegiate career, Wright competed in the European League (Italy and Russia) for Bissolati Cremona, Civitavecchia SNC, Nuoto Catania and Dynamo Moscow from 2004-08. He competed for the U.S. National Team in all major tournaments from 2001-09, helping lead Team USA to the gold medal at the 2003 and 2007 Pan American Games as well as the 2005 ASUA Cup (Mexico City). THE WRIGHT FILE Coaching Highlights Most recently, Wright concluded his playing career with the U.S. National Team by • Helped lead UCLA women’s water polo to fifth consecutive NCAA title in 2009 leading Team USA to a fourth-place finish at the 2009 FINA World Championships • Secured the top men’s water polo recruiting class in the spring of 2009 in Rome, Italy. • Coached Wilson High School’s boys water polo program to four CIF Championships • Helped guide Wilson High School’s girls water polo program to two league titles A graduate of Wilson High School (Long Beach, Calif.) in 1997, Wright was a four- year varsity water polo and three-year varsity swimming letterwinner at Wilson. Team USA Highlights • Led Team USA to the silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing Wright, 32, is married to Kerry Norris, a former UCLA women’s soccer player. • Scored four goals and registered a team-high nine assists at the 2008 Olympics He and his wife reside in Los Angeles. • Played in two summer Olympic Games – 2004 (Athens) and 2008 (Beijing) • Scored in six games at 2003 World Championships, leading the U.S. with five goals Playing Highlights (at UCLA) • Led UCLA to back-to-back NCAA titles in 1999 and 2000 • Finished four-year career having accumulated 128 goals, playing from 1997-2000 • Named a second-team All-America selection in 1998, third-team selection in 1999 • Graduated from UCLA in 2001 with degrees in history and sociology International Competition Highlights • 2009 FINA World Championships, 4th Place (Rome, Italy) • 2009 FINA World League Super Final, 4th Place (Podgorica, Montenegro) • 2008 Olympic Games, 2nd Place (Beijing, China) • 2008 FINA World League Super Final, 2nd Place (Genoa, Italy) • 2007 FINA World League Super Final, 5th Place (Berlin, Germany) • 2007 Pan American Games, 1st Place (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) • 2007 FINA World Championships, 9th Place (Melbourne, Australia) • 2006 FINA World League Super Final, 5th Place (Athens, Greece) • 2005 ASUA Cup, 1st Place (Mexico City, Mexico) • 2004 Olympic Games, 7th Place (Athens, Greece) • 2004 Torneo di Napoli, 3rd Place (Naples, Italy) • 2003 FINA World League Super Final, 3rd Place (New York, N.Y.) • 2003 U.S. Cup, 2nd Place (Stanford, Calif.) • 2002 FINA World Cup, 7th Place (Belgrade, Yugoslavia) • 2001 FINA World Championships, 7th Place (Fukuoka, Japan) • 2000 UPS Cup, 6th Place (Los Alamitos, Calif. - USA “B”) • 1999 World University Games, 4th Place (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) 2009 UCLA MEN’S WATER POLO COACHING STAFF In 2004, Krikorian guided the men’s program to their first perfect MPSF finish since 1999 and first NCAA championship since securing back-to-back titles in ADAM 1999 and 2000. The 2004 team also compiled an 18-game winning streak, which included winning the NorCal Tournament title and gaining multiple victories over KRIKORIAN the nation’s other three top-ranked teams – Stanford, California and USC. In 2000, Krikorian led the men’s program to its fourth NCAA title in six years. ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH • 14th Year at UCLA He also coached the UCLA women to the inaugural NCAA championship in the Alma Mater: UCLA ’97 spring of 2001, coaching in the absence of Guy Baker (who then served as the U.S. Women’s Water Polo Head Coach). The 2001 women’s squad finished the season with an 18-4 overall mark, including a 9-1 MPSF record, and won its second Adam Krikorian enters his 14th season on the UCLA men’s water polo coaching consecutive national championship. staff in 2009. Krikorian served as the program’s head coach from 1999-2008 and in an assistant capacity from 1996-1998 before assuming Associate Head Krikorian was promoted to Co-Head Coach of the men’s program at the start of Coaching duties in July 2009. Krikorian concurrently serves as head coach of the 1999 season, after serving as an assistant coach for three seasons. In the the U.S. Women’s Water Polo National Team. spring of 1999, he served as the interim head coach for the women’s team, while Baker was coaching Team USA. Krikorian has won 15 national titles – 11 as a head coach (men’s and women’s), three as an assistant coach and one as a student-athlete – in 17 years with the During the 1996-1997 school year, Krikorian served as a student assistant coach UCLA water polo programs. Krikorian helped lead the men’s program to NCAA as he completed his undergraduate studies, assisting Baker in leading both squads titles as head coach in 1999, 2000 and 2004 and as an assistant coach in to national championships. 1996. As a senior, he led the Bruins to the 1995 NCAA title, UCLA’s first men’s water polo championship since 1972. As a senior captain in 1995, Krikorian helped lead UCLA to its first men’s water polo national championship since 1972. He scored two goals in the Bruins’ 10-8 On the women’s side, Krikorian coached UCLA to eight national championships (7 win over California in the NCAA title match. During his senior season, he registered NCAA) as head coach from 1999-2009. He helped engineer UCLA’s remarkable a team-best 31 goals, including one two-pointer, while earning second-team All- run of five consecutive NCAA women’s water polo titles from 2005-2009. Serving America and second-team All-MPSF honors. as an assistant coach with the women’s program in 1997 and 1998, he led UCLA to national titles each season. A four-year letterwinner, Krikorian captained the team in 1994 and 1995, leading the Bruins to the NCAA Tournament both seasons. He finished his collegiate career As the men’s water polo head coach from 1999-2008, Krikorian guided UCLA to with 76 goals, including a pair of two-pointers, and was named “Most Inspirational three NCAA Championships and recorded a 192-62 overall record (.756 winning Player” by his teammates in his final three seasons. percentage). His men’s water polo teams went 61-19 in MPSF play in 10 seasons, and two of his men’s teams posted a perfect 8-0 MPSF record (1999, 2004). A standout prep athlete at Mountain View High School, Krikorian was a four-year letterwinner in water polo and swimming. As a senior, he scored 113 goals and Between both water polo programs, Krikorian has coached six Peter J. Cutino earned honorable mention All-America accolades. In 1992, he helped lead his team Award recipients, seven National Player of the Year selections and 12 Olympians. to the National Junior Olympic Championship. Krikorian’s older brother, Blake, was On the men’s side, Sean Kern won the Cutino Award in 1999 and 2000 and was on the UCLA water polo team from 1986-1989. named the National Player of the Year in 2000. Brett Ormsby earned National Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2004. Krikorian, 35, graduated from UCLA with a psychology degree and a business administration emphasis in June 1997.