The Pac 12 conference features the best water polo players in the country. Picking the best players from the conference’s storied history was not an easy task, but they managed to do so, naming Tony Azevedo as the Water Polo Player of the Century.
The honor does not limit itself to players from 2000 forward, but from the past 100 years of the sport. the conference selected the Pac 12 Team of the Century as well, and players from the past 50 years were named to the roster.
Azevedo competed for Stanford University from 2001 to 2004, helping the Cardinal win the national title in 2001 and 2002. In that time, he set a lot of school scoring records, including 332 career goals in his four years at Stanford.
Azevedo has been one of the famous faces of USA Water Polo since ending his collegiate career. He’s participated in the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics, winning the silver medal in 2008. Azevedo also won 5 Pan American Gold Medals. He’s looking for a spot on his fifth Olympic team, which would be a record and would give him the chance to play in Brazil, where he was born.
In addition to being named as the Pac 12 Water Polo Player of the Century, Azevedo was placed on the conference’s All-Century team as one of the seven top drivers/attackers. Jovan Vavic, the current men’s head coach at the University of Southern California, was named the Coach of the Century after guiding the Trojans to eight titles since 2000, including a record six in a row from 2008 to 2013. The Vavic family will also celebrate the addition of Nikola Vavic as one of the members of the Team of the Century.
Pac 12 Conference Water Polo Team of the Century
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Tony did win a medal, he won Silver in 2008 at Beijing.