USA Water Polo Announces Final Olympic Training Roster


Huntington Beach, Calif. – June 5, 2012— Terry Schroeder, Head Coach for the U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo Team, today announced the final 14 athletes in training to compete at the 2012 Olympic Games this summer in London, England at a press conference at the LA84 Foundation in Los Angeles, CA. LA84 Foundation Chairman, Bob Graziano and President, Anita DeFrantz welcomed the team to open the press conference. Only 13 athletes will compete for Team USA, the final 13 will be announced at a later date. Featuring eleven returners from the 2008 team that won the Silver Medal, the team clinched a berth to the 2012 Olympic Games by winning Gold at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Due to recent injuries the announcement of the final 13 athletes has been put on a hold until a date later this month. "We had every intention of coming here today and announcing 13 players on our team," said USA Head Coach Terry Schroeder. "Based on the respect for the process of naming the Olympic team we've decided to come here with 14 players."

Led by Team Captain Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) and center Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF), both headed to play in their fourth Olympic Games, the veteran squad will be looking to build off recent momentum that has seen consecutive wins over Hungary and a victory against Croatia last week.

Azevedo and Bailey will potentially be the first male water polo athletes in USA Water Polo history to compete in four Olympic Games. The final 13 nominees to the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team are subject to approval by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

2012 U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo Team Training Roster (Hometown/College/Club)
Tony Azevedo *#^ © - Attacker (Long Beach, CA/Stanford ‘03/NYAC)
Ryan Bailey *#^ - Center (Long Beach, CA/UC-Irvine ‘98/Newport WPF)
Layne Beaubien#^ - Defender (Coronado, CA/Stanford ‘99/NYAC)
Shea Buckner - Attacker (Villa Park, CA/USC ‘10/NYAC)
Peter Hudnut ^ - Defender (Encino, CA/Stanford ‘03/NYAC)
Tim Hutten^ - Defender (Seal Beach, CA/UC-Irvine ‘08/Newport WPF)
JW Krumpholz^ - Center (Santa Ana, CA/USC ‘10/NYAC)
Chay Lapin - Goalkeeper (Long Beach, CA/UCLA '09/Shore Aquatics)
John Mann - Center (Newport Beach, CA/California ‘07/NYAC)
Merrill Moses^ - Goalkeeper (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine ‘00/NYAC)
Jeff Powers #^ - Defender (San Luis Obispo, CA UC-Irvine ‘03/Newport WPF)
Jesse Smith #^ - Utility (Coronado, CA/Pepperdine ‘05/NYAC)
Peter Varellas^ - Attacker (Moraga, CA/Stanford ‘06/Olympic Club)
Adam Wright #^ - Attacker (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA ‘01/NYAC)

#2000 Olympian
%2004 Olympian
*2008 Olympian

The U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo Team will open competition at the 2012 Olympic Games against Montenegro on July 29. That is followed by a match against Romania on July 31, Great Britain on August 2, Serbia on August 4, and Hungary on August 6, to close out preliminary play in Group B. The quarterfinals are set for August 8, followed by the semifinals on August 10, and the medal round on August 12.

For more information on the team, including individual bio information visit USAWaterPolo.org by clicking here.


FLASH QUOTES

 

Christopher Ramsey, CEO, USA Water Polo:
It's very special to be here at one of the legacies of the LA '84 Olympic Games...they continue to keep the Olympic spirit in the community...to inspire young kids achieve their greatest.
 
We're here to recognize these men who are going to make up the U.S. Olympic team...we're very proud of you and have high hopes for you in London.
 
Anita DeFrantz, President, LA84 Foundation:
You'll be representing all the kids in this country in about a month or so.
 
My friends, no regrets.
 
It's a family, you've been supported and you will be supported, and those kids will be watching you.
 
Bob Graziano, Chairman, LA84 Foundation
I've never played a day of water polo in my life...but water polo has been hugely important to me...my son plays water polo and all his friends played and got in with a really good group of kids.
 
Water polo has been tremendous to me in such a personal way and I can only hope for you that when you come home from London you'll feel personally connected and proud to represent this country.
 
Terry Schroeder, Head Coach, USA Water Polo Men's National Team:
The team is on track for doing something special in London, we're really happy with where we're at.
 
We had every intention of coming here today and announcing 13 players on our team...and based on the respect for the process of naming the Olympic team we've decided to come here with 14 players.
 
In my book they're all Olympians...this is a family and making these cuts is extremely difficult.
 
We're a very veteran team and one of the issues will be keeping this team healthy, and if we can do that we have a great chance.
 
He (Krumpholz, who suffered a concussion during the FINA World League Prelims) was out of the water and wasn't able to play so that puts us in a spot where we need a little bit more time to evaluate.
 
We're able to play 14 players in Kazakhstan so we can evaluate everyone again and make a fair choice.
 
This team is a very special team and these guys have played together for 12, 13, 14 years and that experience gives us a chance to beat Hungary, Croatia...and experience in our sport is huge.
 
It's an amazing accomplishment...they take a beating every single day...these guys take great care of their bodies and they're in great shape and it's really special.
 
With our experience in Beijing, we came so close so that's why a lot of them are back.
 
Tony Azevedo, Captain, USA Water Polo Men's National Team:
 
Gold, that's obviously our expectation...we're a little more confident going into it because we've played together for 14 years and we know what everyone likes and we've been training for 7 straight months...so we have that motivation to play with the best in the world.
 
It's the love of the sport, we were all in love with water polo in high school and then we got to be on the national team, and now we can play overseas...you love the atmosphere.
 
You love the guys and you want to win...after this Olympics especially you know how great it is to represent your country.
 
It's not about who scores or who plays defense it's about winning...it's about what's best for the team and when you stick around and become a family like we are, it's the little things that make the difference.
 
I've seen a lot of growth...the more Olympics you go to, the more you play, experience becomes a factor.
 
Our bracket, like always, is pretty hard...in one way it's a positive...when you're at the Olympic games they're all just as hard.
 
I think a gold would mean everything; it would change a lot...the people that come out to these games we have here, and I wish we had more opportunities like that...we need to grow the sport, and with a gold medal I'd like to see where water polo really should be.
 
This is a great sport and I think a gold medal could take it to the next level.
 


About USA Water Polo
USA Water Polo, Inc. is the national governing body for water polo in America, overseeing our United States Olympic program as well as 20 different championship events annually, such as Junior Olympics and Masters National Championships. With more than 40,000 members, USAWP is also the sanctioning authority for more than 500 Member Clubs and more than 400 tournaments nationwide. USAWP is committed to the development of the sport nationwide. It fosters grass-roots expansion of the sport, providing a national system of affiliated clubs, certified coaches and officials.