USA USAWP About Water Polo

BY DEFINITION No other team sport combines as many diverse physical and tactical elements as water polo—often described as a combination of swimming, soccer, , hockey, rugby and wrestling. The game is fast paced and vigorous, requiring its players to be strong, quick and extremely accurate.

WATER POLO HISTORY During the mid 1800’s, as swimming became a popular recreation in England, several water sports emerged bridging the gap between land and water sports. Among them were water football, water rugby, water handball, and water polo. As the game de- veloped and European rules were adopted, the sport quickly spread to several countries by 1900 including Hungary, Austria, Germany, France, and Belgium. Water polo had its official start in the USA in 1888. By 1900, water polo had become so popular that it earned the distinction of becoming the first team sport added to the Olympic program.

THE GAME A team consists of six field players and one . The goal of the game resembles that of soccer—to score as many goals as possible, by throwing the ball into the team's goal net while preventing the opposition from doing so at the other end of the pool. First published illustration of an American water polo game by T. de Thelstrup, Harper’s Weekly Magazine, February 28, 1891

TIME CLOCKS As in basketball, two clocks are used to time a water polo game. One indicates the time remaining in the quarter, and the other, called the possession (shot) clock, indicates how much time remains for the offensive team to shoot the ball.

STARTING Each quarter is started with the teams lined up on opposite goal lines. On a signal (whistle) from the referee, the teams sprint toward the center pool for the ball. The team gaining possession of the ball advances it towards its offensive end of the pool by swimming, or passing the ball.

FOULS There are two types of fouls in water polo. Ordinary fouls account for approximately 80% of the whistles during the game and personal fouls (exclusion and penalty fouls) the remainder. Ordinary fouls include: touching the ball with two hands; taking the ball under water when tackled; impeding an opponent in possession of the ball who is not holding the ball; pushing off of an opponent; and, stalling (failing to advance the ball into a better scoring opportunity). Major fouls include exclusion and penalty fouls. Exclusion fouls include: kicking or striking; deliberate splashing in the face; an ordinary foul committed by the defense; interfering with a free throw; misconduct or disrespect to the referee; holding, sinking or pulling back an opponent not holding the ball. A player who receives three personal faults (major fouls) will be excluded for the remainder of the game with substitution.

USA WATER POLO USAWP 2 USA Finishes at USA Men’s Finishes at World Cup

Year Location Men Women Year Location Place 1904 St. Louis, Missouri 1st 1979 & Rijeka, Yugoslavia 2nd 1920 Antwerp, Belgium 4th 1981 Long Beach, CA, USA 4th 1924 Paris, France 3rd 1983 Malibu, CA, USA 4th 1928 Amsterdam, Netherlands 7th 1985 Duisberg, Federal Republic of Germany 2nd 1932 , California 3rd 1987 Thessolonika, 4th 1936 Berlin, Germany 9th 1989 West Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany 8th 1940 CANCELLED WWII 1991 , Spain 1st 1944 CANCELLED WWII 1993 , Greece 4th 1948 London, England 11th 1995 Atlanta, GA, USA 4th 1952 Helsinki, Finland 4th 1997 Athens, Greece 1st 1956 , Australia 5th 1999 , Australia 6th 1960 , Italy 7th 2002 Belgrade, Yugoslavia 7th 1964 Tokyo, Japan 9th 1968 Mexico City, Mexico 7th USA Women’s Finishes at World Cup 1972 Munich, Germany 3rd Year Location Place 1976 Did not qualify 1979 Merced, CA, USA 1st 1980 Boycott 1980 Breda, Netherlands 2nd 1984 Los Angeles, California 2nd 1981 , Australia 4th 1988 Seoul, South Korea 2nd 1983 Sainte Foy, Canada 2nd 1992 Barcelona, Spain 4th 1984 Irvine, CA, USA 2nd 1996 Atlanta, Georgia 7th 1988 Christchurch, New Zealand 4th 2000 Sydney, Australia 6th 2nd 1989 Eindhoven, Netherlands 2nd 2004 Athens, Greece 7th 3rd 1991 Long Beach, CA, USA 3rd 1993 Catania, Italy 5th USA Finishes at World Championships 1995 Sydney, Australia 6th 1997 Nancy, France 7th Year Location Men Women 1999 , Canada 6th 1973 Belgrade, Yugoslavia 5th 2002 , Australia 2nd 1975 Cali, Colombia 8th 2006 Tianjin, China 4th 1978 Berlin, West Germany 5th 1982 Guayaquil, Ecuador 6th 1986 Madrid, Spain 4th 3rd 1991 Perth, Australia 4th 3rd 1994 Rome, Italy 6th 4th 1998 Perth, Australia 7th 8th 2001 Fukuoka, Japan 7th 4th 2003 Barcelona, Spain 6th 1st National Training Center Phone: 1-562-799-8506 2005 , Canada 11th 2nd 11360 Valley Forge Avenue Fax: 1-562-799-8508 Los Alamitos, CA 90720 www.usawaterpolo.org USA WATER POLO USAWP 3 Men’s Preview

FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM PREVIEWS:

USA Team USA comes into the 2007 FINA World Championships looking to medal after a disappointing 11th place at the 2005 World Championships. In 2006 newly hired coach Ricardo Azevedo led the team to an ASUA Cup victory and fifth place in the World League Super Finals in Athens, Greece.

This year’s World Championship team is a mix of young and old, with seven Olym- pians back from the 2004 Games including leading scorers , and . has had a great year and will manage the center position one more time with Merrill Moses and Genai Kerr adding depth to the team in the goalie position. With a fast tempo and an aggressive press de- fense, Team USA is ready to again challenge for a top four finish.

Group A: Group B: Serbia Australia The clear favorite for winning this year’s championship title, Serbia won both the With the addition of three returning veterans from the 1996 Olympics, Australia will FINA World Cup and European Championships in 2006. With a veteran team play at home with 11 returning Olympians. Considered one the fastest teams in the made up of several “who’s who” players of water polo, Serbia is fielding a majority world, Australia will be a tough draw and a strong contender for this year’s champi- of its team with players who have been together since 1994. Sapic, Savic, onship title. Their Junior program is equally as strong, medaling twice in the last Vujasinovic, Trbojevic, Ciric and Ikodinovic make up the strongest core of players in two FINA Junior World Championships. Key players to watch include Thomas the world. The addition of 2006 player of the year Sefik in the goal makes Serbia a Whelan, , David Marsden, Sam McGregor and Pietro Figlioli all of virtually unstoppable force. whom play in Europe and bring tremendous fire power to the Australian’s game. Italy Croatia Even with the retiring of perennial greats like Angelini, Postiglione and Silipo from Coach Rudic is pulling out all the stops by bringing back three players (Hinic, its roster, Italy is still boasting a fast and experienced, albeit young, roster to Mel- Smolatka and Vrdoljak) from the 1996 Olympics. Croatia has had a strong pres- bourne. With seven Olympians in its line up, and a field of professional players ence in water polo since it burst in the international scene with a silver medal in the Italy should have a strong showing at this year’s event. Key players to watch in- 1996 Olympics. Although 2006 started well with a fourth place finish at the FINA clude Tempesti, whose 6”10” frame in the goal will present a formidable wall to get World Cup in , Hungary, their disappointing seventh place finish at the over to score and Captain Calcaterra, who is still considered one of the premier 2006 European Championships has resulted in some restructuring for the team. centers in the world. Croatia’s key players (Hinic, Stritof, Smolatka and Vrdoljak) have all been on the team since the early 1990’s. New comers Boskovic and Pavlovic have added scoring and depth to this already strong team. Group C: Group D: Spain Hungary After winning the 2001 FINA World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Spain en- If Serbia is the heavy favorite to win the Championships, Hungary is the premier dured a series of disappointing results. In 2005, new coach Rafael Aguilar sought challenger. Winning the last two Olympic Gold medals, Hungary has made it to the to build a more athletic and experienced team built around center Ivan Perez. final game of every Championship since 2000, with the exception of the 2001 FINA Spain’s new roster has benefited tremendously by the addition of Brazilians Ricardo World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. The core of the team, Kasas, Biros, and Felipe Perrone. Spain has become a strong international contender after finish- Kiss, Molnar, Steinmetz, Fodor and goalie Szecsi have been together for 12 years, ing third at both the FINA World Cup and European Championships in 2006. Spain most of whom started playing together in the FINA Junior Worlds in 1995. An also finished second in the FINA World League losing only to eventual champion offensive juggernaut, Hungary can score from everywhere, and it often does! The Serbia in the finals. Hungarians bring to Melbourne a team that has lost only to Serbia in the last two Greece years. After their fourth place finish at the 2003 FINA World Championships, Greece has Romania been recognized as one of the premier teams in Europe. In 2006 they finished in The surprising team of 2006, Romania boasts a talented veteran squad led by the top six in both the FINA World Cup and European Championships with a rela- Vlade Hagiou, the greatest player in Romanian history. With their latest addition of tively young team comprised of only three veterans, Mazis, Afroudakis and Reppas. Bogdan Rath, an Italian Olympian that has decided to play for Romania in For Melbourne, however, Coach Alessandro Campagna has brought back five Melbourne, Romania will bring its best chance to medal since the early 1970’s . Olympians to the squad in hopes of making it to the medal rounds. Greece has to While the competition is fierce, Romania definitely has a chance to make it to the be considered a dangerous foe with the addition of these veterans. semi-finals… they are big, strong and well coached. USA WATER POLO USAWP 4 USA Men’s Roster

Name Position Birthday Ht. Hometown Education Club Affiliation Brian Alexander Center, Attacker 5/3/83 6’3’’ Santa Ana, CA UCSB 2005 Aguas de Valencia Tony Azevedo ^” Attacker 11/21/81 6’1’’ Long Beach, CA Stanford 2004 Bissollatti Cremona Ryan Bailey ^” Center 8/28/75 6’6’’ Long Beach, CA UC Irvine 1998 Panonios Dreason Barry Defender 1/23/83 6’10” Eugene, OR UC Irvine Newport WPF Layne Beaubien Defender 7/4/76 6’6” Coronado, CA Stanford 1999 New York AC Spencer Dornin Attacker, LH 2/27/80 6’5’’ Laguna Beach, CA UC Berkeley 2005 Queensland Center 2/16/80 6’5’’ Hollywood, CA Stanford 2003 Los Angeles WPC Genai Kerr ” Goalkeeper 12/25/76 6’8” Imperial Beach, CA UC Irvine 2000 Long Beach Shore Rick Merlo Defender 8/5/82 6’3’’ Fresno, CA UC Irvine 2005 Nervi Merrill Moses Goalkeeper 8/13/77 6’3” Rancho Palos Verdes, CA Pepperdine 2000 New York AC Jeff Powers ” Center 1/21/80 6’7” San Luis Obispo, CA UC Irvine 2003 Bissollatti Cremona Jesse Smith ” Utility 4/27/83 6’4’’ Coronado, CA Pepperdine 2005 Mladost Peter Varellas Attacker 10/2/84 6’3” Moraga, CA Stanford 2006 Savona Kevin Witt Driver, LH 8/19/81 6’1” Glendale, CA Loyola Marymount 2003 Aguas de Valencia ” Attacker 5/4/77 6’3” Seal Beach, CA UCLA 2001 Civitavechia Head Coach: Ricardo Azevedo Team Manager: Assistant Coach: Ryan Brown Trainer: Takeshi Komatsu Assistant Coach: Terry Schroeder Team Doctor: Larry Drum

^ 2000 Olympian ” 2004 Olympian

2007 Schedule

USA Men's Senior National Team FINA World Championships – March 18-April 1, 2007 Melbourne, AUS Premier League Series - March - May 2007 - July 17-26, 2007 , Brazil FINA World League Super Final - August 8-12, 2007 Croatia

Team USA at a Glance • First place at 2006 ASUA Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil • Fifth place at 2006 FINA World League Super Finals in Athens, Greece • Seventh place at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece • Sixth place at 2003 World Championships in Barcelona, Spain • Third place at 2003 FINA World League Super Finals in New York, N.Y. • First place at 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo • Seventh place at 2002 World Cup in Belgrade, Yugoslavia • Seventh place at 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan • Sixth place at 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia • Current roster boasts six returning Olympians • Sixth place at 1999 FINA World Cup in Sydney, Australia • First place at 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada • Silver medal at 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games • Bronze medal at 1924, 1932 and 1972 Olympic Games USA WATER POLO USAWP 5 Tony Azevedo POSITION: Attacker HEIGHT: 6’1’’ WEIGHT: 206 lbs. HOMETOWN: Long Beach, CA EDUCATION: Stanford 2004 CLUB: Bissolatti Cremona BIRTHDAY: 11/21/81 BIRTHPLACE: Rio de Janeiro

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: USOC Athlete of the Year three times...Led the team with 18 goals at the 2005 FINA World League and 13 at the 2005 FINA World Championships… Ranked 2nd in scoring percentage at the 2005 FINA World Championships…. Led the U.S. with 15 goals (ranked 2nd overall) at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece including a hat trick to help the team qualify for the 7th place game...Became one of the highest paid players in water polo when he signed to play professionally for Italian club team, Bissolati Cremona...Scored a tournament high 33 goals during the 2003 Pan American Games... Finished as the top scorer in the FINA World League with 12 goals...Led the team in scoring at 2003 U.S. Cup with eight, including three versus Australia… Was named as the world’s seventh-best male athlete in the June 2003 edition of Men’s Journal…Scored 12 goals in four games in Team USA’s first place finish at 2003 French International…Led Team USA in scoring with 29 goals in the first year of the FINA World League, including seven in the season opener against Croatia in Los Alamitos (Calif.)…Was sixth in the league in scoring, but was only player in top six that didn’t advance to the Super Final…Was the only U.S. player to net at least one goal in each game…Leading scorer at the 2001 World Championships in Japan…Led team in scoring with 14 goals in Japan despite playing with a broken ear drum…Scored 13 goals in outstanding Olympic debut at the Sydney Games in 2000, the fourth highest scorer in the world...Selected by color commentator Jim Kruse for NBC’s All-World Team following Olympics...Was the high scorer at the Pan American Junior Water Polo Championships in 1998. PROFESSIONAL: Led Bissolatti Cremona in scoring for the 2005-2006 season in Cremona, Italy…First in scoring in all of Italy for the 2006 season. COLLEGE: Became the first-ever player to win the prestigious Peter J. Cutino award four consecutive years...Was awarded First-Team All-American honors from 2001-2004...Named MPSF Player of the Year four consecutive years from 2001-2004...Named the 2004 American Water Polo Coaches Association Player of the Year for the fourth straight season... Mountain Pacific Federation four-time winner... Named co-Player of the Year in 2003 NCAA tournament...Scored 80 goals in his senior season...Shattered the prior record by over 100 goals when he became Stanford’s all-time top scorer with 332 goals…Was named as the Player of the Year at 2002 NCAA Tournament…Scored 95 goals in 2002, becoming Stanford’s top single-season scorer…In 2001, he earned NCAA Player of the Year and All-American Player of the Year…Voted the 2001 NCAA Tournament MVP…Voted Co-MVP of the 2001 MPSF Tournament…Named MPSF Player of the Week twice…Winner of the Stanford Block “S” Freshman Award…The nation’s leading scorer with 68 goals, which was a freshman school record and ninth-best in school history. HIGH SCHOOL: Earned All-American as well as All-Academic Team honors from 1996-99 at Wilson High School in Long Beach, CA...Selected to All-CIF Team from 1996-99 and was CIF Player of the Year three times…Father Rick was an assistant National Team coach in 2004 and coached Tony throughout his age group career and during his first three years at Long Beach Wilson. PERSONAL: Biggest influence in water polo is his father, Rick Azevedo, the Men’s National Team Coach…Sister, Cassie, was a stand-out water polo player at Cal State Long Beach and now plays professional water polo in Italy...Favorite musical artists are Frank Sinatra and Bruce Springsteen...Says he plays water polo “to win a gold medal for the USA.”… Admits his most embarrass- ing water polo moment was when he was holding his MVP tournament trophy and broke it while on the podium….Favorite pre-game meal is Pasta Pomodoro.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 ASUA Cup, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1st place 2006 FINA World League Super Finals, Athens, Greece, 5th Place 2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal, Canada, 11th place 2004 Olympic Games, Athens, Greece, 7th place 2004 Torneo di Napoli, Naples, Italy, 3rd place 2003 FINA World League Super Finals, New York, NY, 3rd place 2003 Pan American Games, Dominican Republic, 1st place 2003 FINA World Championships, Barcelona, Spain, 6th place 2003 U.S. Cup, Stanford, CA, United States, 2nd place 2003 French International, Nice, France, 1st place 2002 FINA World Cup, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 7th place 2002 Tristar International, Kranj, Slovenia, 3rd place 2002 Eight-Nations Tournament, Nice, France, 3rd place 2001 FINA World Championships, Fukuoka, Japan, 7th place 2001 Poseidon Cup, Athens, Greece, 5th place 2001 Pan American Qualification Tournament, Santo Domingo, Dominican Rep., 1st place 2000 Olympic Games, Sydney, Australia, 6th place

Water polo games are played in deep-water pool in which players are unable to touch the bottom, push off the walls or touch the sides.

USA WATER POLO USAWP 6 Brian Alexander POSITION: Defender, Attacker HEIGHT: 6’3’’ WEIGHT: 220 lbs. HOMETOWN: Santa Ana, CA EDUCATION: UCSB 2005 CLUB: Los Angeles, Aguas De Valencia BIRTHDAY: 5/3/83 BIRTHPLACE: Santa Ana, CA

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: A young standout whose scoring ability will help Team USA...Scored three goals at the 2005 FINA World Championships in Montreal, Canada…Scored three goals at the 2005 ASUA World Championships, including a two-goal game against Brazil...Was a member of the USA Junior National Team in 2002-03...Played in the 12th FINA Junior World Championships in Naples, Italy...Led the USA Junior National Team in scoring at the World Championship with 12 goals...Played for the U.S. National "B" Team in the U.S. Cup World Challenge in 2003 PROFESSIONAL: Played on Aguas De Valencia in Valencia, Spain for the 2005-2006 season. COLLEGE: Named All-American in 2003 and 2004 playing for UCSB...Garnered Third-Team All-MPSF honors in 2003 and Second-Team-All-MPSF honors in 2004...Led UCSB in scoring for two consecutive years with 70 in 2003 and 64 in 2004...Named team MVP in 2003 and 2004. HIGH SCHOOL: Earned High School All-American honors playing for Foothill High School in Santa Ana, California...Selected to First-Team All- CIF...Scored 91 goals as a senior and ranks fifth on Foothill’s all-time single-season goal-scoring list. PERSONAL: Enjoys surfing and bike riding in his spare time...Graduated with a psychology at UCSB and hopes to become a sports psycholo- gist…Enjoys the beach, reading, sleeping, video games…Admits his most embarrassing water polo moment was when his suit was torn and his grandma told him about it after the game.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 ASUA Cup, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1st place 2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal, Canada, 11th place 2005 ASUA Cup, Mexico City, Mexico, 1st place 2005 Four Nation Tournament, Hamm, Germany, 4th place 2003 FINA Junior World Championships, Naples, Italy, 11th place

Dreason Barry POSITION: Defender, Attacker HEIGHT: 6’10” WEIGHT: 220 lbs. HOMETOWN: Eugene, OR EDUCATION: UC Irvine CLUB: Newport Water Polo Foundation BIRTHDAY: 1/25/83 BIRTHPLACE: Newport Beach, CA

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: With his 6’10” frame, Dreason has proven to be an unstoppable force at the post position...During his first international appear- ance at the 2006 ASUA Cup in Rio de Janeiro, he helped secure the team’s ticket to World Championships by scoring two goals in the semifinal game against Colombia. COLLEGE: Nominated for the 2005-06 Peter J. Cutino Award his senior year. Earned Second-Team All-American Honors in 2005 and 2004… Red shirted in 2003 after receiving Third-Team All-American honors in 2002 as a sophomore… Named MSPF Player of the Week in September 2002. HIGH SCHOOL: Played multiple sports at North Eugene High School including water polo, swimming and track. Selected to Second-Team All-State his senior year...Started all four years on varsity team...Made state meet appearances his junior and senior year for swimming...Third in state for high jump his senior year. PERSONAL: Likes playing all sports.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 ASUA Cup, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1st place

USA WATER POLO USAWP 7 Ryan Bailey POSITION: Center HEIGHT: 6’6’’ WEIGHT: 245 lbs. HOMETOWN: Long Beach, CA EDUCATION: UC Irvine 1998 CLUB: Panionios BIRTHDAY: 8/28/75 BIRTHPLACE: Los Angeles, CA

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Named MVP of 2006 ASUA Cup...Only American to play in final four in European League...Outstanding Offensive Player at the 2006 Premier League Championships…Key player on the U.S. offense for the 2005 FINA World Championships in Montreal, Canada… Scored in two games at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece...Scored in six games at the 2003 Pan American Games, including two in the USA’s 13-7 win over Brazil for the gold medal and a spot in the Athens Olympics...Scored six goals in the last four games of the 2003 World Championships...Was named as the 2003 American Water Polo League Outstanding Offensive Player after helping Newport to the championship over New York…Finished with 15 goals in four games, including five in the tournament opener at AWPL…Was named as the USOC Water Polo Male Athlete of the Year in 2001 and 2002…Scored 12 goals in the 2002 FINA World League season from center position…Scored a season-high three goals in USA’s upset over Hungary in Moraga (Calif.)…Was a co-recipient of Chuck Metz MVP in 2002…Was named as the Most Valuable Offensive Player in the debut season of the American Water Polo League (18 goals)…Scored eight goals, including the winning goal in the final seconds to beat Croatia at the 2001 World Championships…Scored three goals in his Olympic debut in the 2000 Sydney Games…Holds the team record in the bench press at 385 lbs. and has the fastest recorded shot on the team at 54 mph. PROFESSIONAL: Played for Panionios in Greece in 2006...Played for Jadran in Split, Croatia for the 2005-2006 season… Played for Dynamo Moscow in 2004-2005...Played professionally for JUG Dubrovnik in Croatia and played in two European Championships in 2004. COLLEGE: Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Year in 1998... Four-time All-American at UC Irvine. HIGH SCHOOL: Attended Millikan High School in Long Beach, CA. PERSONAL: Australia is his favorite vacation spot...Cites Ted Newland, his former coach at UCI, as his biggest influence in water polo….Says his best moment in a game was when he scored the opening goal at the 2004 Olympics… Favorite movie is Wedding Crashers…Began playing water polo when his older brother, Joe, began playing for Wilson High School.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 ASUA Cup, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1st place 2006 FINA World League Super Finals, Athens, Greece, 5th Place 2004 Olympic Games, Athens, Greece, 7th place 2003 FINA World League Super Finals, New York, NY, 3rd place 2003 Pan American Games, Dominican Republic, 1st place 2003 FINA World Championships, Barcelona, Spain, 6th place 2003 U.S. Cup, Stanford, CA, United States, 2nd place 2002 FINA World Cup, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 7th place 2002 Eight-Nations Tournament, Nice, France, 3rd place 2001 FINA World Championships, Fukuoka, Japan, 7th place 2001 Pan American Qualification Tournament, Santo Domingo, Dominican Rep., 1st place 2000 Olympic Games, Sydney, Australia, 6th place 1999 Pan American Games, Winnipeg, Canada, 1st place 1998 FINA World Championships, Perth, Australia, 7th place

Famous water polo players include: PETER UEBERROTH, entrepreneur STEVE SMITH, astronaut SIR ALEXANDER FLEMING, known for his discovery of the first antibiotic: Penicillin JOHNNY WEISSMULLER, Olympic swimmer, water polo player and Hollywood actor famous for roll in "Tarzan" DON FISHER, founder of The Gap DUKE KAHANAMOKU, father of modern surfing PRINCE WILLIAM, second in line of succession to the throne of the British Monarchy TED MCGINLEY, actor, known for his rolls in “Married with Children” and “Happy Days” JOAO HAVELANGE, nominated for the Nobel Peace Price in 1988, chairman of FIFA (1974-1998) USA WATER POLO USAWP 8 Layne Beaubien POSITION: Defender HEIGHT: 6’6" WEIGHT: 215 lbs. HOMETOWN: Coronado, CA EDUCATION: Stanford 1999 CLUB: New York Athletic Club BIRTHDAY: 7/4/76 BIRTHPLACE: Coronado, CA

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Has emerged as one of the top all-around players in the world today…Is one of the sport’s top center defenders…Boasts one of the strongest shooting arms on the National Team…Scored in five games at the 2003 Pan American Games, including one in the USA’s 13-7 win over Brazil for the gold medal and a place in the Athens Olympics... Was named as the American Water Polo League’s Most Valuable Defensive Player in 2002…Scored seven goals in the 2002 FINA World League season…Missed the final game of the season due to injury…Scored eight goals at 2001 World Championships…Has played professionally overseas in Hungary and Greece…He was the first American to play Division I water polo in a Hungarian league with KSI of Budapest in 1999…Captained the U.S. team at the 1999 World University Games. PROFESSIONAL: Played for Paok in Greece for the 2005-2006 season. COLLEGE: Earned All-American honors following 1998 and 1997 seasons, and was selected MPSF Co-MVP in 1998. HIGH SCHOOL: Attended Coronado High School in California…Began playing water polo because it was the only successful sport at his high school. PERSONAL: Enjoys reading, writing and exploring…Best water polo experience was when he represented the USA on the World All-Star Team in Hungary…Took a year off from school at Stanford to travel through Europe, Africa, Asia and Central America… Favorite movie is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 ASUA Cup, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1st place 2006 FINA World League Super Finals, Athens, Greece, 5th Place2004 Olympic Games, Athens, Greece, 7th place 2003 FINA World League Super Finals, New York, NY, 3rd place 2003 Pan American Games, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 1st place 2003 FINA World Championships, Barcelona, Spain, 6th place 2003 U.S. Cup, Stanford, CA, United States, 2nd place 2003 French Open, Nice, France, 1st place 2002 FINA World Cup, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 7th place 2001 FINA World Championships, Fukuoka, Japan,7th place 1999 World University Games, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 4th place

Spencer Dornin POSITION: Left-Handed Attacker HEIGHT: 6’5’’ WEIGHT: 215 lbs. HOMETOWN: Laguna Beach, CA EDUCATION: UC Berkeley 2006 CLUB: Queensland BIRTHDAY: 2/27/80 BIRTHPLACE: Newport Beach, CA INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: As a left-handed attacker, Dornin supplies the U.S. offense with more firepower...Played leading role on the 2005 FINA World Championship Team in Mont- real, Canada…. Scored 3 goals at the 2005 ASUA Cup in Mexico City, Mexico... Scored in three and played in all but one of Team USA’s games in the 2002 FINA World League. PROFESSIONAL: Played on Fiorentina Nuoto in Florence, Italy during the 2005-2006 season… COLLEGE: In 2001, he earned 1st Team All-MPSF and All-American honors at Cal…Named to the MPSF All-Academic Team…Earned All-MPSF honors after the 1999 and 1998 collegiate seasons. HIGH SCHOOL: Was a 1st Team water polo All-American and CIF Division II Co-Player of the Year as a senior at Laguna Beach High School…Competed in swimming as well, holding his school's record in the 100 free (49.10), and was a CIF finalist in 1998 and 1997…Was a starter on the basketball team during the 1997-1998 season…Was also a three-time MVP and a two-time Pacific Coast League MVP, helping lead his squad to a league title and CIF runner-ups in 1996…Holds the school record for single-season goals with 131, set in 1997…Had 115 goals as a junior in 1996. PERSONAL: Enjoys surfing and reading when not playing water polo.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 ASUA Cup, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1st place 2006 FINA World League Super Finals, Athens, Greece, 5th Place 2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal, Canada, 11th place 2005 ASUA Cup Mexico City, Mexico, 1st place 2003 World University Games, Daegu, South Korea, 8th place 2003 U.S. Cup, Stanford, CA, United States (USA “B”), 4th place 2003 French International, Nice, France, 1st place 2002 Unicum Cup, Budapest, Hungary, 4th place 2002 Tristar International, Kranj, Slovenia, 3rd place 2002 Eight-Nations Tournament, Nice, France, 3rd place 2001 Poseidon Cup, Athens, Greece, 5th place

USA WATER POLO USAWP 9 Peter Hudnut POSITION: Center/Defender HEIGHT: 6’5’’ WEIGHT: 225 lbs. HOMETOWN: Encino, CA EDUCATION: Stanford 2003 CLUB: Los Angeles WPC BIRTHDAY: 2/16/80 BIRTHPLACE: Washington D.C.

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: His strength and size have provided a boost off of the bench for Team USA at the center position… Key player on the 2005 FINA World Championships Team in Montreal and the 2005 FINA World League Series…. Selected as the alternate for the 2004 Olympic Team...Represented the Los Angeles Water Polo Club at the 2003-2005 Premier League…. Has been involved in the National Team Program since 1999. PROFESSIONAL: Played for S.S. Lazio in Rome, Italy for the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons. COLLEGE: Was a three-time All-American, helping lead Stanford to the NCAA title in 2002…Named 1st Team All-MPSF and All-American in 2001 and 2002…Was Stanford’s second leading scorer…Named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team…In 2000, earned 2nd Team All-American and 2nd Team All- MPSF honors…Named to the All-Tournament 2nd Team at the 1999 NCAA Final Four. HIGH SCHOOL: At Harvard-Westlake High School he was a three-time All-American, three-time All-CIF, a four-time All-Leaguer and a two-time league MVP. PERSONAL: Cites former National Team member Jim Toring and former Men’s National Team Coach Rich Corso as his biggest influences in water polo...New Zealand is his favorite vacation spot…Admits his most embarrassing water polo moment was fainting during the National Team Clinic in 1999…Became hooked on water polo after watching a national team practice at 14…Favorite movie is Mel Brooks’ “History of the World.”

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 FINA World League Super Finals, Athens, Greece, 5th Place 2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal, Canada, 11th Place 2005 FINA World League 2004 Torneo di Napoli, Naples, Italy, 3rd place 2003 Jobo Curtini Tournament, Rijeka, Croatia, 3rd place 2003 FINA World League Super Finals, New York, NY, 3rd place 2003 U.S. Cup, Stanford, CA, United States (USA “B”), 4th place 2003 French International, Nice, France, 1st place 2002 FINA World Cup, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 7th place 2002 Unicum Cup, Budapest, Hungary, 4th place 2002 Tristar International, Kranj, Slovenia, 3rd place 2002 Eight-Nations Tournament, Nice, France, 3rd place

Genai Kerr POSITION: Goalkeeper HEIGHT: 6’8" WEIGHT: 225 lbs. HOMETOWN: Imperial Beach, CA EDUCATION: UC Irvine 2000 CLUB: Long Beach Shore BIRTHDAY: 12/25/76 BIRTHPLACE: Los Angeles, CA INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Is an explosive net minder with great passing ability… Key member to Long Beach Shore Aquatics’ defense at the 2006 Premier League series with 141 saves… Played in USA’s gold-medal win over Brazil at the 2003 Pan American Games to secure the United States’ place in the Athens Olympics...Was the starting goalkeeper for Newport at 2003 American Water Polo League finals, helping his team to a first-place finish…Had 57 saves in six games during FINA World League play in 2002, including a season-high 12 against Russia…Was in the net for Newport’s championship run at the 2002 Men’s Senior Nationals…Made his National Team debut at the World Championship Qualification Tournament in March of 2001. COLLEGE: Earned Collegiate All-American Honors in 1999 and 1998 at UC Irvine under Coach Ted Newland...Led the MPSF in saves in 1998...Named Big West Conference Male Scholar Athlete of the Year his senior year. HIGH SCHOOL: Starred in water polo and basketball at Coronado High School…Ran track at Chula Vista High School. PERSONAL: Got involved in water polo on accident, he followed the whistles to what he thought was a basketball game and ended up at the pool…Enjoys painting, photography, cooking and other sports…His artwork has been featured in several exhibitions…Favorite foods are jerk chicken and Thai food…Was named one of the “Sexiest Men in Sports” by Sports Illustrated for Women in 2002… Has coached water polo at Sage Hill High School, Long Beach City College…Earned Bachelor’s degrees in Studio Arts and Education.

International Competition Highlights: 2006 ASUA Cup, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1st place 2006 FINA World League Super Finals, Athens, Greece, 5th Place 2004 Olympic Games, Athens, Greece, 7th place 2003 FINA World League Super Finals, New York, NY, 3rd place 2003 Pan American Games, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 1st place 2003 FINA World Championships, Barcelona, Spain, 6th place 2003 U.S. Cup, Stanford, CA, United States, 2nd place 2002 FINA World Cup, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 7th place 2001 FINA World Championships, Fukuoka, Japan, 7th place st 2001 World Championships Qualifier, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 1 place USA WATER POLO USAWP 10 Rick Merlo POSITION: Defender HEIGHT: 6’3’’ WEIGHT: 220 lbs. HOMETOWN: Fresno, CA EDUCATION: UC Irvine 2005 CLUB: Nervi BIRTHDAY: 8/5/82 BIRTHPLACE: Fresno, CA

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Young player whose strength at two-meter defense has prepared him for the international scene...Earned Outstanding Defender during the 2006 Premier League Series…Scored a goal for Team USA at the 2005 FINA World Championships in Montreal, Canada… Played at the 2005 Premier League for runner-up NYAC...First became involved with the Senior National Team when he practiced with the team in 2004…Scored the game- winning tally against Russia during the World University Games in Daegu, South Korea in 2003...Picked up three goals against Spain at the World University Games in 2003. PROFESSIONAL: Played for S.C. Paguros in Catania, Italy during the 2005/2006 season. COLLEGE: Two-year team captain...Voted First Team All-American and All-MPSF in 2004…Named Big West Scholar-Athlete in 2004...Second-team All-MPSF in 2003...Named to Third-Team All-American in 2003. HIGH SCHOOL: Played at Buchanan High School in Clovis, CA...Awarded High School First-Team All-American in 2000...CIF MVP in 2000. PERSONAL: Older brother, Mark, 26, was a former Academic All-American water polo player at UC Irvine... Younger brother Curt, 20, also plays water polo at UC Irvine …Says his worst water polo moment was when the ball hit his head, went into his team’s goal and they lost by one...Became involved in water polo through his older brother.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 FINA World League Super Finals, Athens, Greece, 5th Place 2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal, Canada, 11th place 2005 ASUA Cup Mexico City, Mexico, 1st place 2003 World University Games, Daegu, South Korea, 8th place

Photo by Ross Herman

Merrill Moses POSITION: Goalkeeper HEIGHT: 6’3” WEIGHT: 215 lbs. HOMETOWN: Rancho Palos Verdes, CA EDUCATION: Pepperdine 2000 CLUB: New York Athletic Club BIRTHDAY: 8/13/77 BIRTHPLACE: Harbor City, CA INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Is one of the most exciting goalkeepers in the game today…Is explosive to both sides of the cage…Known for his vocal leader- ship in the pool as well as his game play…Named Best Goalkeeper at 2006 ASUA Cup… Highest number of saves in 2006 Premier League Division I… Was named the Most Valuable Goalkeeper at the 2003 U.S. Cup at Stanford…Posted a game-high 13 saves against Slovakia at 2003 French Interna- tional…Was named as the 1st Team All-American goalkeeper with New York at the 2002 Men’s Senior Nationals…Had 63 saves in six games during the 2002 FINA World League, including back-to-back 13-stop efforts against Russia. PROFESSIONAL: Played in the Spanish professional league in 2000-01 with Olivar of Zaragosa, Spain. COLLEGE: In 1998, he earned 1st Team All-Conference and 2nd Team All-American honors at Pepperdine...Earned 1st Team All-American distinction in 1997...Was MVP at the 1997 NCAA Championships for Pepperdine. PERSONAL: Enjoys snowboarding, scuba diving and cooking…Played the saxophone and viola during high school…Likes having Jamba Juice before a big game because you can’t be too full as a goalie… Got involved with water polo during the summer before his freshman year of water polo because he didn’t want to play football in the heat.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 ASUA Cup, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1st place 2006 FINA World League Super Finals, Athens, Greece, 5th Place 2003 World University Games, Daegu, South Korea, 8th place 2003 FINA World League Super Finals, New York, NY, 3rd place 2003 U.S. Cup, Stanford, CA, United States, 2nd place 2002 FINA World Cup, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 7th place 2002 Unicum Cup, Budapest, Hungary, 4th place 2001 FINA World Championships, Fukuoka, Japan, 7th place 1999 World University Games, Palma de Mallorca Spain, 4th place

USA WATER POLO USAWP 11 Jeff Powers POSITION: Center HEIGHT: 6’7’’ WEIGHT: 230 lbs. HOMETOWN: San Luis Obispo, CA EDUCATION: UC Irvine 2003 CLUB: Bissolatti Cremona BIRTHDAY: 1/21/80 BIRTHPLACE: Chattanooga, TN

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB Has become one of the team’s most dangerous offensive threats...Can score from center or the perimeter and is an excellent defender... Scored ten goals for the U.S. at the 2005 FINA World Championships, which landed him among the tournament’s top ten scorers list…Was a leading offensive force for Team USA in the 2004 Olympic Games…Had a hat trick in the USA’s gold-medal win over Brazil at the Pan American Games, which earned Team USA a place in Athens...Scored in six games at Pan Ams...Finished with six goals in five games at the 2003 World Champion- ships...Connected for nine goals in four games for Newport at the 2003 American Water Polo League finals...Finished with four goals at 2003 U.S. Cup...Scored eight goals in four games at French International Tournament in 2003...Tied for the team lead in goals scored with six at the 2002 World Cup...Was honored as a co-recipient of the 2002 Chuck Metz Award at Men’s Senior Nationals after piloting Newport to the championship...Was second on the team and 12th in the league in scoring with 16 goals during the 2002 FINA World League...Had a team-high four goals in Team USA’s upset over Hun- gary in Moraga (Calif.)...Scored four goals at the 2001 World Championships. PROFESSIONAL: Was a major force on Bissolatti in Cremona, Italy for the 2005-2006 season COLLEGE: Named 2002 All-MPSF... Received 1st Team All-American honors in 2000-2002...Selected to the All-MPSF squad in 2000 and 1999 and was the top scorer in MPSF in 2000...Was UCI’s leading scorer in 2000 and 1999. HIGH SCHOOL: Was a two-time All-CIF performer in water polo at San Luis Obispo High School and earned All-Northern League honors four times...His prep squad won the 1995 league ti- tle...Also competed in swimming. PERSONAL: Says his best moment in a game was beating Croatia in the final seconds in the first game of the 2004 Olympics…Favorite place traveled with water polo is Hong Kong…He got involved with water polo because he was tired of swimming…Brother, Steve, plays for Purdue club team. Married in 2006.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 FINA World League Super Finals, Athens, Greece, 5th Place 2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal, Canada, 11th place 2004 Olympic Games, Athens, Greece, 7th place 2003 FINA World League Super Finals, New York, NY, 3rd place 2003 Pan American Games, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 1st place 2003 FINA World Championships, Barcelona, Spain, 6th place 2003 U.S. Cup, Stanford, CA, United States, 2nd place 2002 FINA World Cup, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 7th place 2001 FINA World Championships, Fukuoka, Japan, 7th place 1999 World University Games, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 4th place

Peter Varellas POSITION: Attacker HEIGHT: 6’3’’ WEIGHT: 192 lbs. HOMETOWN: Moraga, CA EDUCATION: Stanford 2006 CLUB: Savona BIRTHDAY: 10/2/84 BIRTHPLACE: Moraga, CA

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Third leading scorer for USA in 2006...A member of the U.S. Junior National Team in 2002 ... Helped the U.S. to a second place finish at the 2002 Junior Pan American Champion- ships. COLLEGE: Made the 2005 NCAA All-Tournament First Team and MPSF First Team All- American…Voted Second Team All-American by AWPCA in 2004 ... A reliable goal producer scoring in 27 out of the team's 28 games in 2005 ... Scored 56 goals during the 2005 season ... Named to the All- MPSF first team ... Scored five goals in the NCAA Tournament with three against UCLA in the NCAA title game to earn NCAA All-Tournament first team honors ... Was named to the American Water Polo Coaches Association All-Academic Team… 2003 Honorable Mention All-MPSF ... Named to the 2003 NCAA All-Tournament first team ... Named to the All-MPSF Academic team ... Earned a spot on the AWPCA All-Academic Team. HIGH SCHOOL: A NISCA Boys Water Polo Third-Team All-America in his senior season and honorable mention in his junior year ... A two-time water polo First Team All-League selection at Campolindo High School ... Named team MVP as a senior and Best Offensive Player as a junior ... A five-time swimming All-American ... Recorded 115 goals, 42 assists and 118 steals during his senior campaign. PERSONAL: Father, Larry, was an All-American swimmer at California… Management Science & Engineering major

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 FINA World League Super Finals, Athens, Greece, 5th Place 2002 Junior Pan American Championships, Boca Raton, 2nd place

USA WATER POLO USAWP 12 Jesse Smith POSITION: Utility HEIGHT: 6’4’’ WEIGHT: 240 lbs. HOMETOWN: Coronado, CA EDUCATION: Pepperdine 2005 CLUB: Mladost BIRTHDAY: 4/27/83 BIRTHPLACE: Kilua, HI INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Has drawn acclaim as one of the game’s most naturally gifted athletes…Scored six goals for Team USA at the 2005 FINA World Championships…Was one of the U.S.A.’s top scorers at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece...Scored 9 goals at the 2004 Summer Olympics, including two goals in his Olympic debut against Croatia and a three-goal performance against Italy to clinch 7th Place for the U.S....Made a splash in 2002 as an exciting passer, scorer and defender…Scored in three games at the 2003 Pan American Games...Had four goals in the finals of the 2003 World Champion- ships...Was named as the Top Defender at the 2003 American Water Polo League finals for Newport…Finished fourth on the team with nine goals in the 2002 FINA World League……Made senior National Team debut at the 2001 Canada Cup, in . PROFESSIONAL: Spent the 2005/2006 season playing for Ethnikos Pireus in Greece COLLEGE: Played at Pepperdine University... A Division I First-Team All-American in 2004…A First-Team MPSF pick in 2002...First-Team All-American in 2002...Led the Waves with 55 goals in 2003. HIGH SCHOOL: A graduate of Coronado High School in Coronado, CA... Helped Coronado to three San Diego Section CIF Division II championships in 1998, 1999 and 2000...Named San Diego Union Tribune Player of the Year in both 1999 and 2000. PERSONAL: Favorite foods range from sushi to carrots...Enjoys hiking.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 FINA World League Super Finals, Athens, Greece, 5th Place 2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal, Canada, 11th place 2004 Olympic Games, Athens, Greece, 7th place 2004 Torneo di Napoli, Naples, Italy, 3rd place 2003 FINA World League Super Finals, New York, NY, 3rd place 2003 Pan American Games, Dominican Republic, 1st place 2003 FINA World Championships, Barcelona, Spain, 6th place 2003 Jobo Curtini Tournament, Rijeka, Croatia, 3rd place 2003 U.S. Cup, Stanford, CA, United States, 2nd place 2003 French International, Nice, France, 1st place 2002 FINA World Cup, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 7th place 2002 Unicum Cup, Budapest, Hungary, 4th place 2002 Tristar International, Kranj, Slovenia, 3rd place 2002 Eight-Nations Tournament, Nice, France, 3rd place 2001 Pan American Qualifying Tournament, Santo Domingo, Dominican Rep., 1st place 2000 Junior Pan American Championships, Barqisimieto, Venezuela, 1st place

Kevin Witt POSITION: Attacker HEIGHT: 6’1” WEIGHT: 200 lbs. HOMETOWN: Glendale, CA EDUCATION: Loyola Marymount University 2003 CLUB: Los Angeles Water Polo Club / Aguas De Valencia BIRTHDAY: 8/19/81 BIRTHPLACE: Long Beach, CA

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Led USA in assists at 2006 ASUA Cup… Won the 2006 Premier League Championship with Los Angeles Water Polo Club. PROFESSIONAL: Spent 2006 playing for Aguas De Valencia in Spain. COLLEGE: Three-time All-American at LMU… Led the Lions to their first ever NCAA berth… Was third all-time in LMU history with 210 total points and second with 93 assists… Developed into one of the best two-meter defenders in the country… Second player in LMU history to earn three All-America honors in his career... Second all-time with 145 steals… WWPA’s Player of the Year in 2001…Earned WWPA all- conference honors all four years at LMU. HIGH SCHOOL: A 1999 graduate of Glendale High School in Glendale, CA…A three-year letter winner in water polo and swimming…Two-time all-city, all-area, all-league and All-CIF selection in water polo…Received All-State and All-America honors in his final season…Three-time all-league selection in swimming. PERSONAL: Joined the staff at UC Santa Barbara as the assistant water polo coach for the 2005-2006 season…Says his best water polo moment was winning the conference championships with his brother, Kyle, and scoring two goals for LMU…Nicknamed “chicken wing” because of his flexibility in his shooting arm.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 ASUA Cup, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1st place 2006 FINA World League Super Finals, Athens, Greece, 5th Place 2001 Junior World Championships, Istanbul, Hungary, 6th place 2000 Junior Pan American Games, Venezuela, 1st place USA WATER POLO USAWP 13 Adam Wright POSITION: Attacker HEIGHT: 6’3’’ WEIGHT: 195 lbs. HOMETOWN: Seal Beach, CA EDUCATION: UCLA 2001 CLUB: New York Athletic Club, Civitavecchia BIRTHDAY: 5/4/77 BIRTHPLACE: Huntington Beach, CA

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: One of the most experienced members of the Senior National Team with nearly 15 years of involvement… Threat at both ends of the pool with tough defense and good scoring ability...Scored four goals for Team USA in the 2005 FINA World Championships...Scored a goal against Russia at the 2004 Olympic Games...Scored in six games and led Team USA with five goals at the 2003 World Championships...Netted four goals at 2003 U.S. Cup...Had four goals, including three in one game, at the 2003 French International…First became involved with the National Team in 1997. PROFESSIONAL: Joined Civitavecchia in Italy for 2006 season...Spent the 2005/2006 season in Sicily, Italy playing for Nuoto Catania….Played for Dy- namo in Moscow, Russia in 2004-2005 with U.S. teammate Ryan Bailey. COLLEGE: Named collegiate All-American and All-MPSF athlete in four straight seasons at UCLA...Was a member of the 1999 and 2000 UCLA Bruins National Championship teams....Led the Bruins with 27 assists in 1999. HIGH SCHOOL: Played at Wilson High School in Long Beach, Calif., under current National Team Coach Ricardo Azevedo...Was named the 1995 CIF Division I Player of the Year...Member of the 1994 Division I CIF Championship team...Awarded High School All-American honors in three seasons...Notched 309 career goals at Wilson. PERSONAL: Favorite foods include sushi and Mexican...If he weren’t playing water polo, he would pursue baseball...Cites his parents, brother and Klaus Barth as his biggest influences…Loved traveling to Cuba and Hong Kong with water polo… Married in 2006.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 FINA World League Super Finals, Athens, Greece, 5th Place 2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal, Canada, 11th place 2005 ASUA Cup Mexico City, Mexico, 1st place 2004 Olympic Games, Athens, Greece, 7th place 2004 Torneo di Napoli, Naples, Italy, 3rd place 2003 FINA World League Super Finals, New York, NY, 3rd place 2003 FINA World Championships, Barcelona, Spain, 6th place 2003 U.S. Cup, Stanford, CA United States, 2nd place 2002 FINA World Cup, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 7th place 2001 FINA World Championships, Fukuoka, Japan, 7th place 2000 UPS Cup, Los Alamitos, United States (USA “B”), 6th place 1999 World University Games, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 4th place

The standard field of play for men's competition is 30m x20m x two meters deep.

The standard field of play for women's competition is 25m x 20m x two meters deep.

USA WATER POLO USAWP 14 USA Men’s Coaching Staff

Ricardo Azevedo, Head Coach Ricardo came on deck as the Men’s National Team Head Coach in December 2005. He brings with him 21 years of experience working with national team pro- grams. He spent 1998-2005 as the men’s and women’s head coach at California State University Long Beach.

During his tenure at CSULB, the 49ers recorded their highest MPSF tournament finish ever. Azevedo began his National Team career as the Junior National Team coach from 1984-1992. coaching four Junior World Championship Teams. He went on to serve as the assistant coach for 1996 and 2004 Olympic Teams. He was named Olympic Development Coach of the Year in 1998.

From 1990 to 1998, he served as the water polo coach at Long Beach Wilson High School where he led numerous teams to CIF Championships. Azevedo was voted CIF Coach of the Year three times and was selected as the 1998 California High School Coach of the Year.

Azevedo attended Long Beach State and Long Beach City College and was a two-time All-American. During his collegiate years, he also played for the Brazilian National Team (1974-1980) and Club Botafogo (1975-77). A 1975 graduate of Wilson High School, Azevedo and his wife, Libby, reside in Long Beach and have two children, Tony, a two-time Olympian and pro water polo player in Italy, and Cassie, a four-time All-American water polo player at Cal State Long Beach who is currently playing professional water polo in Italy.

Terry Schroeder, Assistant Coach USA Water Polo Hall of Famer Dr. Terry Schroeder accepted an assistant coaching position with the Men’s U.S. National Team in January 2006.

Dr. Schroeder is considered one of water polo’s all-time stand-out players. He captained the National Team from 1983-1992 and has coached Pepperdine Univer- sity’s men’s team for 20 years. Under Dr. Schroeder’s lead, the Pepperdine Waves have a cumulative record of 307-195 (.612), have attended the NCAA Champion- ships eight times and claimed the NCAA championship in 1997. Schroeder was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1998 and was recently inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

With Schroeder as U.S. team captain, the team finished second to Yugoslavia at both the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games and placed fourth at the 1992 event in Barcelona, Spain. The team also captured the FINA Cup in Barcelona, downing longtime nemesis Yugoslavia in the title game.

A graduate of San Marcos High in Santa Barbara, Calif., Schroeder earned All-American honors at Pepperdine in 1977, 1978 and 1980. He graduated with honors in 1981 and then completed his doctorate studies at Palmer-West Chiropractic School . Schroeder and his wife, Lori, reside in Westlake Village, Calif. with their daugh- ters, Leanna and Sheridan.

Ryan Brown, Assistant Coach Ryan Brown, the former head coach for the University of the Pacific women’s water polo team, joined the National Men’s Water Polo Team as the full-time assistant coach in January 2006.

Brown was the head coach of the Pacific women’s program from 2002 to 2005, compiling a record of 28-94. He led the team to a school record 11 wins in 2005 and a final ranking of No. 20. Pacific picked up two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation victories in 2005, the most since 1998. He also led the team to a school-record, six- game winning streak in 2005. In the summer of 2003, Brown represented Pacific at the 2003 World University Games.

He was an All-American water polo goalkeeper at Pacific and completed his undergraduate education in the fall of 2000. He went on to earn an M.B.A. in 2001 while coaching. Brown and his wife Rebekah were married in September 2006 and reside in Tustin, Calif. with their two dogs, Tytis and Jewlz.

As the model for the bronze male torso sculpted by Robert Graham for the Olympic Gateway monument at the entrance to the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1984, four-time Olympian and two-time silver medalist, Terry Schroeder will forever represent the epitome of all Olympic athletes.

USA WATER POLO USAWP 15 Women’s Preview

FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM PREVIEWS: USA While Team USA is currently ranked fourth in the world behind Australia, Italy and Russia, their recent performance at the Holiday Cup and FINA World League Super Final indicates that they are prepared to move up in the international standings and compete for the World Championship title.

Guy Baker, who has led the women’s program to two Olympic medals and the 2003 World Championship title, will again lead the team with the help of assistant coaches and Kyle Kopp, and .

This year Baker has put together a strong team with depth and unity unlike any other. Veteran players like two-time Olympians , and along with 2004 Olympian have been working hard with newer stand-out athletes such as , and Betsey Armstrong to create a dynamic force that will pose a threat at both ends of the pool.

Group A: Group B: Russia Canada Russia was the team of 2006. Winner of bronze medals at both the FINA The 2001 and 2005 World Championship and 2002 World Cup bronze World League Super Final and FINA World Cup, Russia followed that medalists are led by Head Coach Pat Oaten. Canada has begun a re- with a gold medal at the European Championships which was their first building phase after losing three of their top international players Cora major championship gold medal. Russia is coached by Alexander Campbell, Johann Begin and Ann Dow to retirement following the 2005 Kleymenov and captained by Sofya Konukh one of the best all around World Championships. In 2006, Canada finished seventh at the World players in the world. Cup. Players to watch are goalkeeper Rachel Riddell and center Krystina Spain Alogbo. Spain will be the team to watch at Melbourne. Led by Head Coach Mar Australia Sanroma, the Spanish Team has been on the threshold of breaking into Coming off a gold at the 2006 World Cup, Australia is looking to medal one of the top teams in the world. Spain finished fourth at the European once again after winning their first title since the 2000 Olympic Games. Championships, losing by one goal to Hungary in the bronze medal an outstanding international goalkeeper anchors the Austra- game. Blanca Gil is one of the top centers in the world and Spain’s lian defense and is one of the top scorers in the world. Led defense is anchored by goalkeeper Patricia del Soto. by Head Coach Greg McFadden Australia will be one of the favorites for gold at Melbourne and will be inspired by the home town fans.

Group C: Group D: Greece Hungary 2004 Olympic silver medalist and 2005 World League champion, Greece Hungary will have a new coach in 2007 to lead one of the top teams in the is planning on returning many of their top players from their great 2004 world. The two-time World Champions (1994 and 2005) will be looking to and 2005 teams at this year’s World Championships. Greece water polo defend their world title in Melbourne this year. The Hungarians are led by legend Losifidis Kyriakos is the Head Coach and the team is led by a Mercedes Stieber, Aniko Pelle and Rita Dravucz. tandem of centers, Stavrana Kozompuli and . Italy Netherlands The 2004 Olympic gold medalists had a great year in 2006. They won The Netherlands could be one of the surprise teams to watch at the silver medals at the World League Super Final, World Cup and European 2007 World Championships. In 2006, first year coach Robin van Galen, Championships. Italy is directed by Head Coach Mauro Maugeri in his led the Dutch to multiple fifth place finishes including the World League second year at the helm. In the water Italy is led by veteran players Super Final, European Championships and Holiday Cup. Key players to , and . The two-time watch include attacker lefke Van Belkum and left handed attacker World Champions (1998 and 2001) will be looking to return to the top of Danielle de Bruijn. the podium in Melbourne. USA WATER POLO USAWP 16 USA Women’s Roster

Name Position Birthday Ht. Hometown Education Club Affiliation Betsey Armstrong Goalkeeper 1/31/83 6’1” Ann Arbor, MI U of Michigan 2005 Great Lakes Water Polo Attacker 8/19/84 5’6” Commerce, CA USC 2008 Commerce Kami Craig Center 7/21/87 5’11” Santa Barbara, CA USC 2009 Santa Barbara WPF Erika Figge* Attacker 1/9/85 5’10” Rancho Santa Margarita, CA USC 2009 San Diego Shores Natalie Golda ” Defender 12/28/81 5’11” Fullerton, CA UCLA 2006 New York AC/Glyfada GRE Defender 6/29/85 5’10” Ann Arbor, MI Stanford 2007 Great Lakes WPC Attacker, LH 2/5/85 5’7” Santa Ana, CA USC 2007 SOCAL Water Polo Jaime Hipp Goalkeeper 9/1/81 6’0” Fresno, CA UCLA 2003 Ericka Lorenz ^” Attacker 2/18/81 5’11” San Diego, CA UC Berkeley Ortigia-Siracusa, ITA Heather Petri ^” Attacker 6/13/78 5’11” Orinda, CA UC Berkeley 2002 New York AC, Rari Nantes * Defender 4/7/87 6’0” Danville, CA Stanford 2009 Sunset San Diego Center 5/30/84 5’10” San Diego, CA USC 2006 New York AC Brenda Villa ^” Attacker 4/18/80 5’4” Commerce, CA Stanford 2003 Commerce/Orizzonta ITA Lauren Wenger Defender 3/11/84 6’3” Long Beach, CA USC 2006 New York AC Defender 6/17/85 5’10” Portland, OR UC Berkeley 2007 Tualatin Hills WPC Head Coach: Team Manager/Assistant Coach: Bernice Orwig Assistant Coach: Heather Moody Trainer: Chris Forbes Assistant Coach: Kyle Kopp Team Doctor: Larry Drum ^ 2000 Olympian ” 2004 Olympian * Alternate 2007 Schedule: USA Women’s National Team FINA World Championships - March 18-April 1, 2007 Melbourne, AUS Pan American Games - July 17-26, 2007 Rio, Brazil FINA World League Super Final - July 4-8, 2007 Montreal, Canada Speedo Top 40 Festival - November 2-4, 2007 Los Alamitos, CA USA Holiday Cup - December 5-9, 2007 Los Alamitos, CA USA Team USA at a Glance: • Currently ranked fourth in the world • Only country in women’s water polo to win medals at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games • Current roster boasts four returning 2004 Olympians, three of whom are also 2000 Olympians • In 2005, became the country with the most overall medals in women’s water polo (FINA Junior and Senior events) • First place at the 2006 Holiday Cup in Los Alamitos, CA, sixth consecutive year • First place at the 2006 World League in Cosenza, Italy • Silver at the 2005 World Championships in Montreal, Canada • Gold at the 2005 Junior World Championships in Perth, Australia • Bronze at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece • First place at the 2004 World League in Long Beach, CA • Silver at the 2003 Junior World Championships in Calgary, Canada • Gold at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santa Domingo • Gold at the 2003 World Championships in Barcelona, Spain • Silver at 2002 World Cup in Perth, Australia • Gold at the 2001 Junior World Championships in Perth, Australia • Silver at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, the first Olympics to feature women’s water polo as an official sport

• Gold at the first ever World Cup in 1979 USA WATER POLO USAWP 17 Betsey Armstrong POSITION: Goalkeeper HEIGHT: 6’1” WEIGHT: 170 lbs. HOMETOWN: Ann Arbor, MI EDUCATION: University of Michigan 2005 CLUB: Great Lakes Water Polo BIRTHDAY: 1/31/83 BIRTHPLACE: Ann Arbor, MI

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Starting goalkeeper on Junior National team (2000-01) ... Rookie of the Year (1998). COLLEGE: 2005 Academic All-Big Ten Conference ... Two-time U-M Athletic Academic Achievement award recipient (2002, 2005) ... 2004 Cutino Award Finalist ... 2004 AWPCA All-American second team ... 2005 AWPCA All-America third team ... Two-time AWPCA All-America honorable mention (2002-03) ... 2003-04 CWPA Division MVP ... Four-time CWPA All-Division First Team (2002-05) ... Two-time Eastern Championship MVP (2002, 2005) ... Three-time All-Eastern Championship first team (2002, 2004-05) ... Six-time CWPA Player of the Week ... U-M's career leader in blocks (1,267), minutes (3,329), goals against average (5.64) and save percentage (.654) ... Michigan record holder with 350 saves in 2004 ... Michigan record holder with 24 saves vs. Indiana (3/6/04) ... Michigan record holder with 20 games with 10 or more saves in 2004 ... Has 68 career games with 10 or more saves, including two with over 20. HIGH SCHOOL: Attended Huron High School (2001)… Three-year letterwinner ... MWPA Player of the Year (2000) ... MWPA MVP (2000) ... Two-time all- state first team (2000-01) ... Eastern Region MVP (2000) ... Eastern Region first team (2000). PERSONAL: Earned degree in classical archeology…Enjoys reading, the beach and watching movies… Listens to Ben Harper’s “With My Own Two Hands” to get pumped up for a game…. Older sister also played water polo.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA , 1st place 2006 FINA World Cup, Tianjin, China, 4th place 2006 FINA World League, Cosenza, Italy, 1st place 2002 Junior Pan American Games, Boca Raton, FL, 1st place

Patty Cardenas POSITION: Attacker HEIGHT: 5’6” WEIGHT: 155 lbs. HOMETOWN: Commerce, CA EDUCATION: USC 2008 CLUB: Commerce BIRTHDAY: 8/19/84 BIRTHPLACE:

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Member of the Junior National Team from 1999-2000…On the team that won the 2000 Junior Pan American Championship in 2000… Won the Junior Olympics with Commerce Club team, 1997-1999, and the Junior Nationals in 1996-1998...Cardenas was a member of the Youth National Team from 1997-1998… Member of the Youth North American Championship First Place team in 1998 COLLEGE: Selected as the 2003 All-Southern California Co-MVP while at Golden West Community College… Won the 2002 State Championship with Golden West… Named the California Community College MVP and Community College Southern California MVP in 2002…Scored 40 goals for USC during her first season after transferring (2006); the third highest scorer on the 2006 Trojan roster...Named MPSF Player of the Week after the Stanford Tourna- ment... Received All-American honorable mention HIGH SCHOOL: Cardenas won four straight CIF Division III championships at Bell Gardens High... A three-time first-team All-American at Bell Gardens... Named CIF Co-MVP as a junior and senior... Team went 117-3 from 1999-2002 PERSONAL: Cardenas is majoring in sociology... Parents are Josefina and Alfredo... Has two brothers, Jose and Ivan (also plays water polo)... Enjoys spending time with her family... Lists Lance Armstrong as her biggest sports hero…Recalls her most embarrass- ing water polo moment as scoring a goal on her own cage at age 6…Favorite movie is Shrek.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA , 1st place 2006 FINA World Cup, Tianjin, China, 4th place 2006 FINA World League, Cosenza, Italy, 1st place 2000 Junior Pan American Championships, Venezuela, 1st place 1998 Youth North American Championship, 1st place

USA WATER POLO USAWP 18 Kami Craig POSITION: Center HEIGHT: 5'11" WEIGHT: 200 lbs. HOMETOWN: Santa Barbara, CA EDUCATION: USC 2009 CLUB: Santa Barbara Water Polo Foundation BIRTHDAY: 7/21/87 BIRTHPLACE:

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: As a member of the U.S. Junior National Team, won gold at the 2005 Junior National Championships... Won gold at 2004 Pan-Am Junior Championships... A member of the Youth National Team from 2003-06. COLLEGE: Fourth in scoring for USC during her freshman season making 38 goals from the tough center position ...Named to 2006 MPSF All-Freshman Team… Received All-American honorable mention HIGH SCHOOL: Holds the Santa Barbara High School record for single-season goals (123) and the most goals scored in one game (9)... Named Player of the Year by the LA Times and Santa Barbara News Press... Named CIF MVP and All-American first team as a senior... Won league championship as a freshman at Santa Ynez High School and as a junior at Santa Barbara High... Won CIF title her junior and senior years PERSONAL: Craig has not decided on a major... Parents are Steve and Dale... Has two brothers, Jeff and Tony... Favorite pastime is surfing at Refugio Beach. First became involved with water polo through swimming

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA , 1st place 2006 FINA World Cup, Tianjin, China, 4th place 2006 FINA World League, Cosenza, Italy, 1st place 2005 Junior National Championships, Perth, Australia, 1st place 2004 Junior Pan American Championships, San Salvador, El Salvador, 1st place

Erika Figge POSITION: Attacker HEIGHT: 5’10’’ WEIGHT: 170 lbs. HOMETOWN: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA EDUCATION: USC 2009 CLUB: San Diego Shores BIRTHDAY: 1/9/85 BIRTHPLACE: Orange, CA

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Figge was a 2000-2001 Youth National Team member, a 2002-2005 Junior National Team member and a 2005 Senior National Team member… Member of the 2005 squad that won the gold medal at the FINA Junior World Championship and 2003 squad that finished second... Made her Senior National Team debut at the 2005 FINA World Championships, where the team earned silver. COLLEGE: Figge was one of USC's key players as a 2005 sophomore. As a 2004 freshman, Figge finished fifth on the team in scoring with 33 goals...Earned All-America second team and All-MPSF honorable mention and all-freshmen honors...Named to the NCAA Tournament second team during USC's national championship...Scored a season-high four goals in an 8-5 win against Stanford on Feb. 29 in the championship match of the UC Santa Barbara Tournament. HIGH SCHOOL: Figge was a four-time All-American at Santa Margarita High in Rancho Santa Marga- rita, Calif...earned All-CIF and All-Serra League first team honors all four years...Also earned All-American honors on the swimming team in the 50 and 100 freestyle events. PERSONAL: Parents are Eric and Heidi… Enjoys volleyball in her spare time and looks forward to training for her first Olympic Games in 2008… First started playing water polo when she was bored with swimming and ventured over to a boy’s water polo practice, she joined the team and eventually became captain…Younger sister, Brooke, plays for Arizona State University.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA , 1st place 2006 FINA World Cup, Tianjin, China, 4th place 2006 FINA World League, Cosenza, Italy, 1st place 2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal, Canada, 2nd place 2005 FINA World League, Kirishi, Russia, 5th place 2005 FINA Junior World Championships, Perth, Australia, 1st place 2003 FINA Junior World Championships, Calgary, Canada, 2rd place USA WATER POLO USAWP 19 Natalie Golda POSITION: Defender, Utility HEIGHT: 5’11’’ WEIGHT: 180 lbs. HOMETOWN: Fullerton, CA EDUCATION: UCLA 2006 CLUB: New York Athletic Club, Glyfada GRE BIRTHDAY: 12/28/81 BIRTHPLACE: Lakewood, CA INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Has been involved with the U.S.A. National Team since 1998 when she was on the Youth National Team…Stepped up to the Senior National Team in 2003… Is one of the program’s strongest players…. Led the team along with Van Norman with 12 goals at the 2005 FINA World League….Led Team USA out of a slump with the team’s first goal in the 2004 Olympics Bronze medal victory… Scored in two games at the 2003 Pan American Games, where the USA won gold to qualify for the Athens Olympics...Had four goals at the 2003 World Championships...Netted three goals at 2003 Thetis Cup in Greece…Has been included in the Speedo Top 40 Tournament since 2003. PROFESSIONAL: Joined Glyfada, a Greek club team, for the end of season play offs in 2006 COLLEGE: Received PAC-10 medal in 2006… 2005 AWPCA Player of the Year, AWPCA First Team All-American, NCAA and MPSF Tournament MVP, First Team All-NCAA and All-MPSF Tournaments, First Team All-MPSF, MPSF Co-Player of the Year and Academic All-MPSF… Finished the 2005 season with 47 goals and her career with 158 goals, third-most in UCLA history...Awarded 2005 Peter J. Cutino Award (Collegiate Water Polo MVP)… Was a mem- ber of UCLA’s 2001, 2003 and 2005 NCAA championship teams and was assistant coach for the 2006 team.. Named to the 1st team at the 2003 NCAA and MPSF tournaments... 1st team All- American in 2003 and Honorable Mention All-American in 2002...Co-led the 2002 Bruins in scoring with 37 goals...Named to both NCAA and MPSF All-Tournament Teams. HIGH SCHOOL: Named CIF Division III Player of the Year her junior and senior years at Rosary High School, which won the CIF Championship in 1998 and 1999... 1st Team All-County…OC Register Athlete of the Year. PERSONAL: Played softball for 14 years and loves being part of a team… Younger brother plays water polo at the high school level…Served as the Student Assistant Coach for UCLA through the 2006 season… Describes best water polo moment as scoring a goal in the Bronze Medal game in the 2004 Olympics…Favorite movies are Bull Durham and Spaceballs.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA , 1st place 2006 FINA World Cup, Tianjin, China, 4th place 2006 FINA World League, Cosenza, Italy, 1st place 2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal, Canada, 2nd place 2005 FINA World League, Kirishi, Russia, 5th place 2004 Olympic Games, Athens, Greece, 3rd place 2004 FINA World League Series, Long Beach, CA, 1st place 2004 Holiday Cup, La Jolla, CA, 1st place 2003 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA, 1st place 2003 Pan American Games, Dominican Republic, 1st place 2003 FINA World Championships, Barcelona, Spain, 1st place

Alison Gregorka POSITION: Defender HEIGHT: 5’10” WEIGHT: 160 lbs. HOMETOWN: Ann Arbor, MI EDUCATION: Stanford 2007 CLUB: Great Lakes Water Polo Club BIRTHDAY: 6/29/85 BIRTHPLACE: Ann Arbor, MI

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Helped the U.S. Team to gold at the 2004 Junior Pan-American Games and the Junior World Championships in 2005. COLLEGE: Sixth on the team with 17 goals for the season ... Played in all 29 games for the Cardinal ... Helped the team to second-place finishes at both the MPSF and NCAA championships ... Earned Academic All-American and MPSF Academic All-Conference honors ... Scored one goal in the MPSF championship final versus UCLA (5/1) Had a goal and one assist against USC in the MPSF semifinal (4/30) …. As a freshman in 2004, contributed to Stan- ford's third-place finish at the NCAA Championships ... Scored 12 goals for the Cardinal. HIGH SCHOOL: Named Most Valuable Player of the Michigan State Tournament, Michigan's Water Polo Player of the Year and First-Team All-American in 2001, 2002 and 2003 ... Third-Team All-American in 2000 ... Member of 2001 U.S. Youth National Team and 2003 U.S. Junior National Team ... U.S. Junior Team took second place at the Junior World Championships in Calgary, Canada ... Captain of water polo squad during her senior season ... Four-year letter winner on the swimming and water polo teams ... Captained the swimming team during her junior season ...Swimming Academic All-American in 2003 ... Swim- ming All-American in 1999 ... Competed for the Great Lakes Water Polo Club. PERSONAL: Daughter of Dave and Joan Gregorka ... Has 3 siblings, Brad (23, also played water polo), Andrea (16) and Brian (16) ... Began playing water polo when older brother started playing… Urban Education major ... Enjoys music, laughing, movies, sledding, wearing costumes, kickball, snowboarding, and playing in the ocean.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA , 1st place 2006 FINA World Cup, Tianjin, China, 4th place 2006 FINA World League, Cosenza, Italy, 1st place 2005 FINA Junior World Championships, Perth, Australia, 1st place 2004 Junior Pan American Games, San Salvador, El Salvador, 1st place 2003 FINA Junior World Championships, Calgary, Canada, 2rd place 2002 Junior Pan American Games, Boca Raton, FL, 1st place USA WATER POLO USAWP 20 Brittany Hayes POSITION: Left-Handed Attacker HEIGHT: 5’7” WEIGHT: 155 lbs. HOMETOWN: Santa Ana, CA EDUCATION: USC 2007 CLUB: SOCAL WP BIRTHDAY: 2/5/85 BIRTHPLACE:

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Hayes has been training with U.S. National Team... Was a member of the U.S. Junior National Team, winning the gold medal at the 2005 FINA Junior World Championship and a silver medal at the 2003 FINA Junior World Championship… Named Most Valuable Player at the 2003 Junior Nationals... Named as a four-time Junior Olympic All-American (1998-2001). COLLEGE: 2006 All-MPSF and NCAA All-Tournament Second Team …Two-time Cutino Award nominee (2005-2006)…Hayes was USC's leading scorer as a sophomore and a junior with 51 and 55 goals respectively... Enters her senior year with 165 career goals to rank her No. 6 all-time at USC… Named to All-MPSF First Team and First Team All-America in 2004 and 2005…Named NCAA Tournament MVP in 2004... As a freshman, Hayes led the Women of Troy in scoring with 59 goals... Earned All-America Second Team and All-MPSF All-Freshman honors in 2004. HIGH SCHOOL: Hayes was named Co-CIF Player of the Year in her senior season at Foot- hill High in Tustin, Calif... Named Sea View League most valuable player in her sophomore, junior and senior seasons... Her team won the CIF section title all four years...Member of the honor roll all four years. PERSONAL: Hayes is majoring in business... Parents are Dave and Vicki...Favorite song for warming up is Shakira “My Hips Don’t Lie”…Best moment in a game was winning the 2004 NCAA Championships with USC.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA , 1st place 2005 FINA World League Series, Kirishi, Russia, 5th place 2005 FINA Junior World Championships, Perth, Australia, 1st place 2003 FINA Junior World Championships, Calgary, Canada, 2nd place 2002 Junior Pan American Games, Boca Raton, FL, 1st place

Jaime Hipp POSITION: Goalkeeper HEIGHT: 6’0” WEIGHT: 160 HOMETOWN: Fresno, CA EDUCATION: UCLA 2003 CLUB: BIRTHDAY: 9/1/81 BIRTHPLACE: Fresno, CA

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: First joined the National Team Program in 1998 as a member of the Youth National Team…Helped Team USA to a silver medal finish at the 2005 FINA World Championships where she blocked 56 percent of shots… Garnered All-America accolades as a member of the Outlaw club team. PROFESSIONAL: In 2004 and 2005 spent time playing club for and won two National League Championships… Joined C.N. Odarreta, Alcorcon, a Spanish club team, for the 2005-2006 season. COLLEGE: In her 2003 senior season, led UCLA to the NCAA Championship and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team…Served as UCLA’s starting goalkeeper and received All-American honors all four year... Earned All-MPSF Sec- ond team honors as a junior... Named to the MPSF and NCAA All-Tournament Second teams in 2002... Earned MPSF honorable mention and was named to the NCAA second-team All- Tournament team in 2001… Selected to second-team All-National Collegiate Tournament accolades in 2000. HIGH SCHOOL: Earned three letters in both water polo and swimming under head coach Eric Sullivan…Three-time first-team all- league selection and two-time league MVP … Two-time all-league tournament MVP…Earned all-league tournament first-team honors for two straight years… Captained the team her senior year … Named to the All-Valley first team… Helped her team win the league championships. PERSONAL: Brother Dan was a goalkeeper for the UC Irvine water polo team … Received a BS degree in Psychology with a minor in French… Favorite movies are Zoolander, Anchor Man, Elf and Old School…Is engaged and planning her wedding for August 2007… In her spare time she enjoys working on her own jewelry line.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA , 1st place 2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal, Canada, 2nd place 2005 FINA World League, Kirishi, Russia, 5th place

USA WATER POLO USAWP 21 Ericka Lorenz POSITION: Attacker HEIGHT: 5’11’’ WEIGHT: 158 lbs. HOMETOWN: San Diego, CA EDUCATION: UC Berkley CLUB: Ortigia-Siracusa, ITA BIRTHDAY: 2/18/81 BIRTHPLACE: San Diego, CA

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: One of the world’s most decorated and prominent outside shooters…Joined the U.S. Senior National Team only months before her first Olympic Games in 2000… Scored twice in the gold-medal win over Canada to qualify for the 2004 Olympics...Had multiple-goal performances in four games at the 2003 Pan American Games...Scored the first three goals for the USA and finished with a game-high four goals in the USA’s gold-medal win over Italy at the 2003 World Championships... Led the USA in scoring with 13 goals at the 2003 Pan American Games... Had four multiple-goal games at the 2003 World Championships...Scored in three games at the 2002 FINA World Cup...Was a member of the women’s Junior World Championship team in 2001...Olympic Silver Medalist at 2000 Sydney Games...In 1998 she was on the Junior Pan American Championships team that won gold. PROFESSIONAL: Played for Padova during 2004-2005 season and then for Ortigia-Siracusa in Sicily, Italy for the 2005-2006 season. COLLEGE: Earned Second Team All-American honors in 2002 before taking time off to train full-time with the National Team...Led the Bears in scoring as a freshman with 44 goals and was named FirstTeam All-American...Also earned First Team All-MPSF and All-MPSF Tournament in 2001. HIGH SCHOOL: Named First Team All-American for three years at Patrick Henry High School...Also named First Team High All-CIF...Received First Team All-CIF honors in volleyball in 1998 and 1999...Named Offensive MVP in softball for four straight years. PERSONAL: Enjoys surfing while at home in Southern California.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA , 1st place 2006 FINA World Cup, Tianjin, China, 4th place 2006 FINA World League, Cosenza, Italy, 1st place 2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal, Canada, 2nd place 2005 FINA World League, Kirishi, Russia, 5th place 2004 Olympic Games, Athens, Greece, 3rd place 2004 FINA World League Series, Long Beach, CA, 1st place 2004 Holiday Cup, La Jolla, CA, 1st place 2003 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA, 1st place 2003 Pan American Games, Dominican Republic, 1st place 2003 World Championships, Barcelona, Spain, 1st place 2002 FINA World Cup, Perth, Australia, 2nd place 2002 Holiday Cup, Palo Alto, United States, 1st place 2001 FINA World Championships, Fukuoka, Japan, 4th place 2001 FINA Junior World Championships, Perth, Australia, 1st place 2001 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, United States, 1st place 2000 Olympic Games, Sydney, Australia, 2nd place 2000 Olympic Qualification Tournament, Palermo, Sicily, 2nd place 2000 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA, 1st place

ater polo is one of the best workouts around, burning a mind-boggling 600 calories per hour according to a recent study in Men's Health Magazine. How's that for tough?

USA WATER POLO USAWP 22 Heather Petri POSITION: Attacker HEIGHT: 5’11’’ WEIGHT: 155 lbs. HOMETOWN: Orinda, CA EDUCATION: UC Berkeley 2002 CLUB: New York Athletic Club, Rari Nantes, ITA BIRTHDAY: 6/13/78 BIRTHPLACE: Oakland, CA

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Began training with the national team on 1998…chosen at the last minute to train with the National Team for the 2000 Olym- pics… Is a strong contributor on both offense and defense for Team USA...Adds tremendous speed to the USA lineup...Scored in the USA’s gold-medal win over Canada at the 2003 Pan American Games to qualify for the Athens Olympics...Had four goals at Pan Ams...Saw a lot of playing time at the 2003 World Championships and scored in the USA’s semifinal win over Russia before the USA claimed the gold medal...Netted four goals at 2002 FINA World Cup...Olympic Silver Medalist at 2000 Sydney Games... A member of the Golden Bear Summer National Club Championship teams in 1998 and 1999. PROFESSIONAL: Played for Rari Nantes in Florence, Italy during the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons. COLLEGE: Was a Collegiate All-American in 1999...Earned 1st Team All-Regional Qualifier...2nd Team MPSF, 1st Team MPSF Tournament and 1st Team All-National honors in 1999...Was named Team Captain at Cal Berkeley during the 1999 and 2001 seasons...Was fourth on the team in scoring with 33 goals in 199...Was a member of the 1997 and 1998 Cal Berkeley Collegiate National Teams which placed second in each season. HIGH SCHOOL: Was a founding member of Miramonte High School’s first girls water polo team after having played on the boys team...Helped Miramonte win the North Coast section title her senior year...Served as a two-time captain of the water polo and swim teams at Miramonte...Was a Senior National swimmer with Walnut Creek Aquabears. PERSONAL: Petri is known as “Peti” among her friends and teammates…One of the most experienced players on the National Team…Loves water polo because of the team comradery and working toward a common goal.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA , 1st place 2006 FINA World Cup, Tianjin, China, 4th place 2006 FINA World League, Cosenza, Italy, 1st place 2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal, Canada, 2nd place 2005 FINA World League, 5th place 2004 Olympic Games, Athens, Greece, 3rd place 2004 Holiday Cup, La Jolla, CA, 1st place 2004 FINA World League Series, Long Beach, CA, 1st place 2003 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA, 1st place 2003 Pan American Games, Dominican Republic, 1st place 2003 World Championships, Barcelona, Spain, 1st place 2002 FINA World Cup, Perth, Australia, 2nd place 2002 Holiday Cup, Palo Alto, United States, 1st place 2002 USA Cup, Chicago, United States, 3rd place 2001 FINA World Championships, Fukuoka, Japan, 4th place 2001 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, United States, 1st place 2000 Olympic Games, Sydney, Australia, 2nd place 2000 Olympic Qualification Tournament, Palermo, Sicily, 2nd place 2000 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA, 1st place

Jessica Steffens POSITION: Defender HEIGHT: 6’0” WEIGHT: 160 lbs. HOMETOWN: Danville, CA EDUCATION: Stanford 2009 CLUB: BIRTHDAY: 4/7/87 BIRTHPLACE: San Francisco, CA

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Steffens spent the 2005 season training with the Junior National Team…Selected as one of the top 40 female water polo players in the country in 2005…Played for Team Splash at the 2005 Speedo Top 40 Tournament. COLLEGE: Scored 15 goals for Stanford during her 2006 freshman season, helping the Cardinal to a NCAA 3rd place finish. HIGH SCHOOL: Four-year letter winner in water polo, and swimming ... First-Team North Coast Section and Third-team All-American her junior year ... MVP of the North Coast Sec- tion and Second-Team All-American her senior year ... Led her team to the NCS title during her junior and senior seasons ... Captain of both the water polo and swimming teams her senior year PERSONAL: Daughter of Carlos and Peggy Steffens ... Father, Carlos, played water polo at Cal ... Has two sisters, Maggie (12) and Teresa (14), and a brother, Charlie (16), who all play water polo…Says her most embarrass- ing moment was at her first swim meet ever when she false started, swam the length of the pool and swore she would never get in the pool again…Enjoys reading and beach volleyball.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA , 1st place 2006 FINA World Cup, Tianjin, China, 4th place 2006 FINA World League, Cosenza, Italy, 1st place

USA WATER POLO USAWP 23 Moriah van Norman POSITION: Center HEIGHT: 5’10’’ WEIGHT: 185 lbs. HOMETOWN: San Diego, CA EDUCATION: USC 2006 CLUB: New York Athletic Club BIRTHDAY: 5/30/84 BIRTHPLACE: San Diego, CA

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Proved her outstanding skills as one of the world’s top centers at the 2005 FINA World Championships, helping to lead Team USA to a silver medal…Scored two goals for the U.S. Team in the Championship game against Hungary and four goals from hole in the tournament…One of the few U.S. athletes to compete at the World Championships and Junior World Championships in 2005, winning gold at Juniors…Co-led the team in scoring at the 2005 FINA World League Series with 12 goals…Played on the championship teams at the 2003 Junior World Championships and 2002 Pan American Games…Went to Holland in 2002 as a member of the U.S. ‘B’ Team. COLLEGE: Selected to the All-MPSF First Team and ACWPC All-American First Team in 2006…Scored 52 goals for USC during her senior season and concluded the year among the Trojan’s top five all-time scorers with 175 goals and helping her team to the NCAA Championship game (2nd place)… As a sophomore, became the second player in USC women's water polo history to win the Peter J. Cutino Award as the nation's top collegiate women's player...In leading the Women of Troy to the national championship, Van Norman was named as MPSF Player of the Year and earned All-America and All-MPSF first team honors...Earned NCAA All-Tournament first team honors... Earned All- America and All-MPSF second team honors in her 2003 freshman season after leading the team in scoring with 65 goals. HIGH SCHOOL: She earned four-time All-American honors at University High in San Diego, Calif... Member of San Diego Hall of Champi- ons...Named CIF Player of the Year and league most valuable player in her senior season. PERSONAL: She is majoring in creative writing...Parents are James and Marsha...Her brother, Jordan, is on the USC men's water polo team...She also has an older brother Josh and a younger sister, Sarah...Her goal is to represent Team USA at the 2008 Olympic Games.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA , 1st place 2006 FINA World Cup, Tianjin, China, 4th place 2006 FINA World League, Cosenza, Italy, 1st place 2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal, Canada, 2nd place 2005 FINA World League, Kirishi, Russia, 5th place 2003 FINA Junior World Championships, Calgary, Canada, 2nd place 2003 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA, 1st place 2002 Junior Pan American Games, 1st place

Lauren Wenger POSITION: Defender HEIGHT: 6’3’’ WEIGHT: 170 lbs. HOMETOWN: Long Beach, CA EDUCATION: USC 2006 CLUB: New York Athletic Club BIRTHDAY: 3/11/84 BIRTHPLACE: Anaheim, CA

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Wenger has worked her way up through the National Team Program since 2000… Known as one of the top defenders in the country… Played a key role in USA’s silver medal finish at the 2005 FINA World Championships in Montreal, Canada…Scored the first goal against Hun- gary in the gold medal match of the 2005 World Championships… Was among the top 20 scorers in the 2005 World Championships…Spent two years on the Youth National Team, one year on the Junior National Team and has been on the Senior National Team since 2005… Made her interna- tional debut at the 2003 Junior World Championships where Team USA brought home gold. PROFESSIONAL: Played her first international season for Olympiakos in Greece in 2006/2007 before returning home for World Championships. COLLEGE: Led USC to a NCAA 2nd Place finish during her senior season (2006)… Named the 2006 Peter J. Cutino Award Winner, collegiate water polo’s most valuable player award…No. eight all-time scorer for USC with 127 career goals (37 in 2006)...Selected to the 2006 All-MPSF First Team, the NCAA All-Tournament First Team and the ACWPC All-American First Team… As a 2004 sophomore, Wenger scored 19 goals...Earned NCAA All-Tournament second team honors. Wenger finished fifth on the team in scoring with 27 goals in her 2003 freshman season...Led the team with two goals in a 7-6 overtime loss on April 26 against UCLA at the MPSF Championship...Scored three goals in an 11-9 win on Feb. 2 against UC Santa Barbara. HIGH SCHOOL: She earned All-America honors at Wilson High in Long Beach, Calif...Earned All-CIF and all-league first team hon- ors...Trained with the 2002 Youth National Team…Earned scholar-athlete award all four years. PERSONAL: She is majoring in policy, planning and development...parents are Steve and Janet...her sister, Jana, also plays for USC…Admits her worst habit is talking too much…Lists her favorite movie as Blazing Saddle.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA , 1st place 2006 FINA World Cup, Tianjin, China, 4th place 2006 FINA World League, Cosenza, Italy, 1st place 2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal, Canada, 2nd place 2003 FINA Junior World Championships, Calgary, Canada, 2nd place Brenda Villa USA WATER POLO USAWP 24 POSITION: Attacker HEIGHT: 5’4’’ WEIGHT: 165 lbs. HOMETOWN: Commerce, CA EDUCATION: Stanford 2003 CLUB: Commerce/Orizzonta (ITA) BIRTHDAY: 4/18/80 BIRTHPLACE: Los Angeles, CA INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Is the most experienced member of Team USA, boasting a quick and powerful shot that is known throughout the water polo world...Been a member of the Senior National Team since 1996…Led the team in scoring with 16 goals during the 2005 FINA World Championships, land- ing her as the second highest scorer in the tournament…Scored 10 goals at the 2005 FINA World League… In the 2004 Olympic Games, she scored four goals against. Hungry and two against Russia to guarantee a medal…Olympic Bronze Medalist at 2004 Athens Olympic Games…Scored 10 goals for Team USA at the 2003 Pan American Games, including two in the gold-medal win over Canada to qualify for the Athens Olympics...Had a team-high 13 goals to lead USA to gold at the 2003 World Championships...Was named to the Media All-World Team at the 2002 World Cup, tying for most goals scored with nine...Olympic Silver Medalist at 2000 Sydney Games...Scored game-tying goal with 13.1 seconds left in eventual loss to Australia in gold medal game...Scored the winning goal in the Olympic Qualifying Game against Hungary at the Qualification Tournament in Palermo...Selected as Female Hope for Tomorrow by World Water Polo Magazine...Scored eight goals to lead the U.S. in scoring at the 1997 FINA World Cup. PROFESSIONAL: Spent the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons playing professional water polo for the Italian Division I Team, Orizzonta, in Aci Trezza, Italy…Won the LEN Champions Cup Finals in 2006, the team’s seventh Champions Cup and the their third in a row. COLLEGE: MPSF Player of the Year in 2003...A finalist for the 2003 Peter J. Cutino Award...Finished Stanford career with 172 goals (three seasons)...Was honored with the 2002 Peter J. Cutino Award...A finalist for the 2002 Women’s Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year Award...Member of 2002 NCAA Championship Team...All-Tournament 1st Team honors at 2002 NCAA and MPSF Championships...In 2002, she led Stanford in scoring with 60 goals...Had a team-high 69 goals in her freshman campaign in 2001, when Stanford finished second at the first Women’s Water Polo NCAA Championship...Named Division I Water Polo Player of the Year in 2001...MPSF Co-Player of the Year as a freshman...Selected as the College Player of the Year in 2000. HIGH SCHOOL: Earned 1st Team All-CIF honors three times on Bell Gardens High School’s boys water polo team...A four-time girls 1st Team All-American. PERSONAL: Recalls her favorite water polo moment as defeating Hungary to qualify for the first ever Women’s Water Polo Olympic Games

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA , 1st place 2006 FINA World Cup, Tianjin, China, 4th place 2006 FINA World League, Cosenza, Italy, 1st place 2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal, Canada, 2nd place 2005 FINA World League, 5th place 2004 Olympic Games, Athens, Greece, 3rd place 2004 Holiday Cup, La Jolla, CA, 1st place 2004 FINA World League Series, Long Beach, CA, 1st place 2003 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA, 1st place 2003 Pan American Games, Dominican Republic, 1st place 2003 FINA World Championships, Barcelona, Spain, 1st place 2002 FINA World Cup, Perth, Australia, 2nd place 2002 Holiday Cup, Palo Alto, United States, 1st place 2001 FINA World Championships, Fukuoka, Japan, 4th place 2001 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, United States, 1st place 2000 Olympic Games, Sydney, Australia, 2nd place 1999 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, California, 3rd place 1998 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, California, 2nd place 1998 World Championships, Perth, Australia, 8th place 1997 FINA Junior World Championships, 3rd place 1995 FINA Junior World Championships, 3rd place Elsie Windes POSITION: Defender HEIGHT: 5’10” WEIGHT: 170 lbs. HOMETOWN: Portland, OR EDUCATION: UC Berkeley 2007 CLUB: Tualatin Hills WPC BIRTHDAY: 6/17/85 BIRTHPLACE: Portland, OR INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: A member of the USA Senior National Team and one of the top young water polo players in the nation...Helped the United States' women's water polo team to a gold medal with an 11-9 victory over Russia at the 2005 FINA Junior World Championships in Perth, Australia, Jan. 24-30, 2005...Scored a team-leading two goals in USA's 9-8 victory over Hungary and tallied two goals in a 19-1 victory over China...In July of 2004 helped the United States to a gold medal at the 2004 Junior Pan American Games in San Salva- dor, El Salvador. COLLEGE: Named to the 2006 All-MPSF First Team, the ACWPC All-American Second Team and was Berkeley’s top scorer with 40 goals… In 2005, led the Bears in scoring with 51 goals, earning third-team All- America, second-team All-MPSF and MPSF All-Tournament honors...Was a 2005 MPSF All-Academic selec- tion...Named 2004 honorable mention All-American, Cal's first true freshman to ever be selected as an honor- able mention All-American...Also named second-team All-MPSF and was a member of the MPSF All-Freshman Team. HIGH SCHOOL: At Beaverton High School was a three-time all-league selection, a two-time Metro League MVP and the 2003 Oregon State MVP...Helped her team to the 2003 Oregon state title...Competed four years on the varsity swim team, placing third in the state in the 50 free (24.81) as a senior. PERSONAL: Majoring in interdisciplinary studies...Parents are Doug and Betty Windes…Favorite pre-game meal is a peanut butter and jelly…Father and sister, Lucy, also played water polo.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS: 2006 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, CA , 1st place 2006 FINA World Cup, Tianjin, China, 4th place 2006 FINA World League, Cosenza, Italy, 1st place 2005 FINA Junior World Championships, Perth, Australia, 1st place 2004 Junior Pan American Games, San Salvador, El Salvador, 1st place USA WATER POLO USAWP 25 USA Women’s Coaching Staff

Guy Baker, Head Coach In 1998, Guy Baker picked up a struggling USA Women’s water polo program and ran with it. In eight years time, Baker turned the once mediocre national team program into one of the most decorated women’s water polo program in the world. His accomplishments include a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, a World Championship title in 2003 in Barcelona, Spain, and a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Baker began his coaching career in 1985 as an assistant coach under Ken Lindgren at Long Beach State University, where he was a former star player. After six years with the 49ers, Baker moved on to UCLA, where he was named men's head coach in 1991. In his first year, Baker coached the men’s team to a second-place NCAA finish and was named American Water Polo Coaches Association Coach of the Year. UCLA added women’s water polo in 1995, prompting Baker to tackle head coach double duty from 1995-1998. In that time, the UCLA women’s team notched three collegiate titles in 1996, 1997 and 1998 and the men’s team won four NCAA titles in 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2000. Baker was the first coach in history to lead both a men’s and women’s collegiate team to NCAA titles in the same year (1995-96). He went on to duplicate the double win the following year.

Baker currently lives in Long Beach, Calif., with his wife, Michelle, and his two daughters, Samantha and Christen.

Kyle Kopp, Assistant Coach Kyle Kopp joined the Women’s National Team staff in 2001 after a successful career as a center with the U.S. Men’s National Team, joining fellow Long Beach State alum, Head Coach Guy Baker.

Kopp is a 1996 and 2000 Olympian, and during his career he was known for his aggressive style of play and tireless work ethic. While with the National Team, Kopp was party to a 1997 FINA World Cup gold medal and two Pan American Games gold medals in 1995 and 1999.

In his playing days at Long Beach State, Kopp was a three-time All-American and All-Big West selection, capturing All-Tournament Team honors at the NCAA Championships in 1988 and 1989. In 1988, Kopp was named as the Big West Most Valuable Player after leading all scorers at the NCAA tournament.

Heather Moody, Assistant Coach Two-time Olympian Heather Moody of Green River, ID, took on the role of Assistant Coach to Women’s National Team Head Coach Guy Baker after serving as the interim Head Coach for the Women’s National Team in 2005. In just a few short months, she was able to lead the Women’s World Championships Team to a silver medal finish. Moody took on the position with a wealth of knowledge and groundbreaking experience in women’s water polo. Not only was she a key member of the first-ever USA Women’s Olympic team, which carried home silver medals from the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, she is also the first American woman to play water polo professionally abroad. Moody signed with Greek club Voulafmeni in 2001.

As a student-athlete at San Diego State University, Moody helped San Diego to a third place finish at the 1996 Collegiate Nationals. Since that time, she has gone on to help the USA Women to become one of the top programs in the world with gold at the 2003 FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, and the 2003 Pan American Games in Dominican Republic. Moody’s last feat as a member of the National Team was leading her team to a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. She now lives in Long Beach, Calif., where she coaches at Golden West College in addition to her work with the Women’s National Team.

Bernice Orwig, /Assistant Coach/Team Leader A former USC and USA National Team member, Bernice Orwig has been involved in coaching water polo since 1994 and was the starting goalkeeper on the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team that won a silver medal in Sydney, Australia. She has been working as an assistant coach for the Women’s National Team since May 2005 and was the former assistant coach for UC Berkeley.

In 2005, Orwig was an assistant coach with the United States Junior National Team that won a gold medal at the Junior World Championships in Perth, Australia. Prior to coaching at Cal and assisting with the junior national team, Orwig served as an assistant coach for Drury-Pinto at the University of Michigan from 2000-02. In 1999-2000, Orwig was an assistant coach at her ala mater, USC, and from 1995-98 she was the head girl's and assistant boy's coach at Foothill High School in Santa Ana, Calif. During the 1994-95 season, Orwig was an assistant boy's water polo coach at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana.

As an athlete, Orwig was a star goalie at USC, earning second team All-America honors as a sophomore and junior. During her senior year, Orwig helped lead USC to the 1999 NCAA title, earning first team All-America honors. She graduated from USC in 1999 with a degree in social science education. As a member of the USA National Team from 1998-2003, Orwig also helped the USA Women to a silver medal at the 1999 Pan-American Games and an appearance at the 2001 FINA World Championships.

USA WATER POLO USAWP 26 Glossary of Water Polo Terms

Advantage rule: A rule permitting the referee to refrain from declaring a foul if, in his/her judgment, such a declaration would give the advantage to the defending team.

Counterattack: A term used to describe fast-break transition play. Generally it is used to set up a half-court offense or to exploit a man advantage over the opponent’s defense for a high-percentage shot.

Corner throw: A corner throw is awarded to the offense when a defending goalkeeper is the last to touch the ball before it goes out of bounds at either end of the pool. The offensive player puts the ball into play at the two-meter mark on the side nearest to where the ball went out

Dribble: The method a player uses to swim with the ball.

Driver/Attacker: A player who normally tries to get away from his defender in the front court by quick, explosive swimming. Drivers are field players who specialize in driving skills and quick shooting techniques. Drivers must be extremely quick swimmers and have above average hand-eye coordination. They also are responsible for considerable defensive pressure.

Dry pass: A pass made from one player to another where the ball is caught without touching the water.

Eggbeater: The alternating leg kick that enables players to lift themselves vertically out of the water.

Exclusion (Ejection): A foul that results with an offending player being excluded from the game for 20 seconds.

Free throw: When a player is fouled by a defender, he receives a free throw. This is a pass that the defender may not block or interfere with in any man- ner. The player receiving a free throw must put the ball in play, either by passing to a teammate, dribbling the ball or tossing it in the air to himself/herself.

Front court: The area of the pool in front of the goal.

Game clock: The clock that displays the time remaining in the period.

Goalkeeper (goalie): A player whose primary responsibility is to defend the goal. He/she may use two hands inside five-meters to defend against shots by the opposing team.

Hole: The area in front of the goal between the two- and four-meter lines. Thus the center forward who plays in this position is generally called the “.” Shots taken by this player are called “hole shots” and the defender is called the “hole guard.”

Impeding: It is an ordinary foul to push, push off from or hamper the free limb movement of, or to impede in any way, an opponent who has not gained an offensive advantage and who is not holding the ball.

Inside water: An offensive advantage that exists when an offensive player is positioned between the goal he/she is attacking and the defender. A five- meter foul should be called if the offensive player is held, sunk or pulled back when he is in control of the ball and is maintaining inside water while on or inside the five-meter line. It is a major foul if the offensive player is held, sunk or pulled back when he/she has inside water outside the five-meter line whether in control of the ball or not.

Lob shot: A deceptive, high-arching shot that is intended to pass over the goalie’s hands and under the crossbar.

Man-down (also Player-down): The time of play in which a defending team has one less player, normally due to an exclusion.

Man-up (also Player-up): The time of play in which the offensive team has a player advantage, most often a six player on five situation following a defen- sive player’s exclusion (also called 6 on 5).

Neutral throw: A “jump ball” awarded by the referee. Neutral throws generally occur when two players commit a foul at the same time. The referee will award a neutral throw by requiring two players from opposing teams to face each other, at which point he/she blows the whistle and throws the ball into the air between them.

Personal foul: A foul that results in exclusion and/or a penalty shot. Any player committing three personal fouls is excluded from the remainder of the game.

USA WATER POLO USAWP 27

Penalty shot: A shot awarded to the offense when a defender commits a major foul within five-meters of his/her own goal. Any offensive field player currently in the pool may take a free shot at the goal when the referee blows the whistle. The selected player may shoot from no closer than five-meters and may NOT fake or delay. The defending goalkeeper may not move to block the shot until the referee blows the whistle.

Pick: This term describes the method for an offensive player to free himself/herself momentarily from his/her defender. This is accomplished by swim- ming so close to another offensive player, that the defender swims into the offensive teammate by mistake, allowing the attacking player to be open for an instant.

Possession (shot) clock: The clock that displays the time of possession in which a team must take a shot (also called shot clock or 30-second clock).

Press: A type of defense in which everyone is covered tightly.

Red: The period of time immediately prior to the expiration of the shot/possession clock or game clock. Some teams yell “RED” when either of these clocks indicates 10 seconds or less.

Re-entry area (penalty area): The location of the pool behind each goal line, where a penalized player must await re-entry after an exclusion.

Skip shot: A shot designed to skip off the water into the goal. Because of water turbulence, the angle of the shot is somewhat unpredictable and difficult to stop by the goalkeeper.

Slough (also Drop): The action taken by a defender when he/she moves away from his/her opponent to help defend in another area.

Sprint: The manner in which a water polo game begins each quarter. Each team lines up at the end-line or at the two-meter line to start. When the refe- ree blows his whistle, the two players closest to the referee sprint toward the ball, which is dropped on the halfway line. When possible, the ball will be placed in a pull-start ring at the center of the pool, for two players to sprint toward.

Strong side: The side of the pool in which the ball is located.

Tackling: Holding, sinking, grabbing and pulling back a player who is “holding the ball” is not a foul as long as it is NOT done in a manner likely to injure the offensive player. The focus of the defender must be the ball.

Two-meter player: A name given to the player who is located on or about the two-meter line in front of the opposing team’s goal. This individual is also called a hole set or center forward.

Weak side: The side of the pool opposite of where the ball is located.

Wet pass: A pass from one player to another that lands on the water, within the reach of the receiving player.

Wet shot: A shot that originates with the ball on the water.

Zone defense: A type of defense in which players are assigned an area to defend. Defensive players must assume responsibility for covering any of- fensive player entering that particular zone or area.

is the only country to win medals in both Olympic Games USA in the women's competition.

USA WATER POLO USAWP 28 A Guide to Understanding Water Polo

Water polo can be a confusing game for spectators. The whistle is constantly blowing and the play never stops, even when someone is excluded. In addi- tion, there are several misconceptions about the game, including how the players keep their horses swimming. Well hang in there, because the following information should help to make the picture much clearer.

The standard course for a water polo game is 30 x 20 meters, but non-championship games may be played in a pool not less than 20 x 10 meters. The pool should be all deep, with championship games played in a minimum depth of two meters. Goals are positioned at each end of the course. Each team has seven players. Six are field players and one goalkeeper, who guards a 0.9 meter high by 3 meter wide (approximately three feet by 10 feet) goal at the end of the field of play.

The object of the game is to throw a ball into the opponent's goal and to prevent members of the opposing team from scoring on your goal.

The ball is advanced by throwing it or swimming with it. The major restrictions are that a player cannot touch the ball with both hands at the same time (the goalkeeper is an exception to this rule) or strike the ball with a closed fist.

Each contest consists of four eight-minute quarters. The offensive team has 30 seconds of actual playing time to take a shot at the goal, or else it loses possession of the ball. Possession (shot) clocks indicate the number of seconds remaining before a team can lose possession.

The two-meter line, visible on each side of the pool, delineates the distance from the goal. The offensive team may not pass this line unless preceded by or accompanied by the ball.

The five-meter line is a second mark visible along the side of the pool. Should an offensive player who has possession of the ball and is moving toward the goal be fouled inside this line, he/she may be awarded a penalty shot from the five-meter line. A penalty shot is awarded by the referee. The offensive player faces the goalkeeper across five meters of water. When the whistle sounds and the referee makes a hand signal, the player takes a shot at the goal.

The five-meter line also marks a point when fouls are committed beyond five-meters, the player fouled may either take a free throw or a direct shot on goal if taken immediately, without faking.

The center line mark indicates the center of the field of play. To start each quarter, the ball is placed on the center line and the teams race from their re- spective goal lines for possession. After a goal, the teams line up on the center line, each in their respective sides, to restart play.

Fouls play an important part in the strategy of water polo. Much of a team's effort will often go into inducing its opponents to commit fouls. There are three kinds of fouls: ordinary, exclusion and penalty.

Ordinary Fouls are assessed for:

• touching the ball with two hands (field players outside of five-meters) • taking the ball underwater when tackled • impeding the progress of an opponent in possession of the ball who is not holding the ball • pushing off an opponent • failing to shoot at the goal within 30 seconds of gaining possession or failure to advance the ball (also called stalling)

For ordinary fouls, the opposing team receives the ball at the point of the foul or at the spot of the ball or from the location of the ball if it is further from the defending teams goal. If the foul was committed inside the two meter line, the free throw must be taken from the two meter line. The player taking the free throw has approximately 3 seconds to put the ball into play. If the ball is not put in play with this amount of time, the team may be charged with delay of game and the opposing team may be awarded the ball.

USA WATER POLO USAWP 29

Exclusion Fouls are assessed for:

• interfering with a free throw • impeding or pushing off of an opponent before a free throw, goal throw, corner throw or penalty throw is taken • committing an act of misconduct by using foul language or violent or persistent foul play that is unacceptable within the Spirit of the Rules and that is likely to bring the game into disrepute • intentionally splashing an opponent • refusing obedience or showing disrespect to an official or referee • holding, sinking or pulling back an opponent not holding the ball • committing an overly aggressive ordinary foul • committing an act of brutality, such as intentional kicking or striking an opponent or making disproportionate movements with that intent

An exclusion foul is punished by the award of a free throw to the opposing team and the exclusion of the player who committed the foul. The excluded player must move to the re-entry area, located out of bounds nearest to the players own goal line (located near the team bench side of the pool), without leaving the pool or interfering with play. The excluded player, or a substitution, shall be permitted to return after 20 seconds of actual playing time, from the time of the foul, after a goal has been scored, or after a change of possession, whichever is shortest. A player is removed from the remainder of the game with substitution after committing three exclusion fouls.

An act of brutality is defined as kicking or striking or attempting to strike or kick an opponent or official with malicious intent. The offending player is re- moved from the remainder of the game (with substitution after four minutes), leaving the team of the offending player with one less player than the oppo- nent (for those four minutes).

An exclusion leaves one team short-handed, seven players to six. Many goals are scored during exclusions. The game strategy of most teams is to induce the defensive team to commit exclusion fouls. Rather than taking shots on the goal, some teams will patiently work for an exclusion, so as to be able to attack the goal with a one-man advantage. When that happens, most teams will go into a “,” whereby each player covers a pre- assigned section of water rather than a particular offensive player.

Penalty Fouls are assessed for:

• a defending player committing any foul within the five-meter area but for which a goal would probably have resulted • a defending player committing an act of brutality within the five-meter area • an excluded player to intentionally interfering with play • an excluded player or a substitute re-entering improperly during the last minute of the game • the coach of the team not in possession of the ball to request a time out

A penalty foul is punished by the award of a penalty throw to the offended team. A penalty throw is a direct shot at the goal and shall be taken by any player of the team to which it is awarded, except the goalkeeper, from any point on the opponent’s five-meter line.

Much of the action in front of the goal consists of the offensive team passing the ball to the center forward, who plays a position between the two goal posts and the opponents two and five-meter lines. The object is to draw exclusion fouls that will give the offensive team a six-on-five advantage. Most goals in water polo are scored in this situation.

A “counterattack” occurs when a team receives the ball and springs down the pool at top speed, hoping to score before the defenders can get organized and set up their front court defense. Counterattacks also tend to produce exclusion fouls. When facing a advantage or with a scoring threat, many de- fenders will simply pull back the offensive player by the legs or swimsuit.

Goals are scored when the ball completely passes between the front of the goal posts. It need not slam into the back of the net, although the usual shot sails into the goal at tremendous speeds, sometimes exceeding 60 mph.

s are the size and weight of a #5 soccer ball and can be thrown at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.

USA WATER POLO USAWP 30 USA Water Polo Media Services

Media seeking additional information on USA Water Polo may contact USA Water Polo Media Relations Jennifer Ross 1-562-799-8506, ext. 117 [email protected]

2007 USA Water Polo World Championship Media Guide Compiled by: Jennifer Ross, USA Water Polo

Each athlete or coach provided biographical information to the editor.

Cover Photo by Paul Spinelli, Head Shots by Kirby Lee (www.imageofsport.com) , Action Shots by Kirby Lee, Paul Spinelli, Ross Herman and John French

Website The official website is www.usawaterpolo.org. This site offers online membership, corporate information, sponsor links, information on national and international events, articles on water polo at all levels, merchandise pages, club information and much more. Each day, www.usawaterpolo.org averages over 150,000 hits.

Other Useful Links Water Polo World www.waterpolo-world.com News on international water polo United States Olympic Committee www.usolympicteam.com Features and highlights on all Olympic sports USOC Pressbox www.usocpressbox.org Summary stories on Olympic sports

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