USA Water Polo Update
National Junior Olympics
The 2001 National Junior Olympics finished up Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan. "There was a ton of enthusiasm at this tournament," said Women's National Team Head Coach Guy Baker. Two hundred and six teams competed thisyear, making it one of the largest water polo tournaments in the world.
Girls Medal Results
14 & U
Gold- So Cal
Silver- Long Beach Shore
Bronze- San Diego Shores
MVP- Grace Reynolds/So Cal
16 & U
Gold- San Diego Shores
Silver- Golden West
Bronze- So Cal
MVP-Sally Stone/San Diego Shores
18 & U
Gold- San Diego Shores
Silver- So Cal
Bronze- Commerce Aquatics
MVP-Moriah Van Norman/San Diego Shores
Boys Medal Results
14 & U
Gold- Harvard Water Polo Foundation
Silver- Long Beach Shore
Bronze- So Cal
MVP-Will Hindle-Katel/Harvard Water Polo Foundation
16 & U
Gold- Long Beach Shore
Silver- So Cal
Bronze- Navy
MVP-Johnny Foster/Long Beach Shore
18 & U
Gold- San Diego Shores
Silver- ORCA
Bronze- Lamorinda
MVPs-Justin McCain&Ty Lackey/San Diego Shores
National Team Updates
Men's Junior National Team- The Juniors began play at the World Junior Championships last week. They lost to Yugoslavia in the first game, and then won the next four games against Argentina, Egypt, Venezuela and Kazakhstan.
Brett Ormsby (El Cajon,CA/San Diego Shores), Kevin Witt (Glendale, CA/Lions Water Polo) and Jesse Smith (Coronado, CA/Malibu Waves Water Polo) have been
the scoring leaders for the team.
Men's National Team- The men started practice again last Wednesday after taking some time to recuperate from the World Championships. Most players seem happy about the results in Japan, but know there is a long way to go to match up with powerhouses such as Spain, Hungary and Yugoslavia. "We are an inexperienced team, but a lot of guys stepped up in Japan," said Tony
Azevedo (Long Beach, CA), who played with a punctured ear lobe the entire tournament and still scored 14 goals. The team placed 7th in the tournament, beating Croatia in the final round. The men travel to Croatia at the end of this month to play in a tournament
Women's National Team-The women are resting after the World Championships. They placed 4th, after losing to Canada in the bronze medal game 6-5. Ericka Lorenz (San Diego,CA) scored 14 goals in the tournament, while Brenda Villa (Commerce,CA) and Heather Moody (Green River,WY) each had 13 goals.