Genai Kerr

USA Men Topple Canada 10-3 In FINA World Cup Qualifier

Los Alamitos, CA – May 3 – The USA Men’s Senior National took a large step in qualifying for the upcoming FINA World Cup with a 10-3 win over Canada earlier today at the USA Water Polo National Training Center. Behind four goals from center Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, CA/Newport WPF) Team USA built an early lead and never looked back in en route to a seven goal victory. The win also avenges a loss to Canada earlier this year at the Volvo Cup in Hungary.

The scoring started right away for the United States when Jeff Powers (San Luis Obispo, CA/Newport WPF) ripped the net just 39 seconds into the match for a 1-0 advantage. Bailey then drew a penalty out of two meters and converted the opportunity for a 2-0 lead. Canada would eventually get on the board to draw within 2-1 and then tie the game at 2-2 but that was short-lived as Michael Sharf (Orinda, CA/Olympic Club) found the cage for a 3-2 tally going into the second period.

In the second stanza the United States continued to build, Jeff Tyrell (Granite Bay, CA/NYAC) connected on a power play opportunity for a 4-2 game. After that Jesse Smith (Coronado, CA/NYAC) rocketed in a shot from outside for a 5-2 lead in favor of the United States at intermission.

Coming out of the gates in the second half not much had changed as Bailey converted another penalty shot for a 6-2 lead. Sharf came calling again some four minutes later with a tally for a 7-2 lead and that was the score as play moved to the fourth. Some nifty passing opened the final frame as Tyrell rolled to the cage to catch a lofted pass for an easy put-away and a 9-2 lead. Canada tacked on a late goal but it came all too late. Team USA answered with final salvo on another score by the three-time Olympian, Bailey. 10-3 was the final as the United States won going away.

Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/NYAC) did the job in net going all four quarters in the cage posting nine saves. Team USA went 1/6 on player advantages and 2/2 on penalty shots while Canada was an equal 1/6 on player advantages and did not attempt a penalty shot.

Team USA is back in action on Thursday evening when they play host to Venezuela at 7:30pm. In other action the Men’s Senior National “B” Team upended Brazil 10-4.

Scoring:

USA 10 (3, 2, 3, 2) R. Bailey 4, M. Sharf 2, J. Tyrell 2, J. Powers 1, J. Smith 1
CAN 3 (2, 0, 1, 0) C. Kudaba 1, J. Boyd 1, N. Constantin-Bicari 1

Saves – USA – M. Moses 9

6×5 – USA 1/6 – CAN 1/6
Penalties – USA 2/2 – CAN 0/0

USA Men’s National Team
FINA World Cup Qualifier – May 3-4
FINA World League Prelim – May 6-8
USA Water Polo National Training Center – Los Alamitos, CA
FINA World Cup Qualifier – Free Admission

May 3 – USA vs Canada 12pm
May 4 – Brazil vs Canada 10am

FINA World League Prelims – Free Admission
May 5 – Brazil vs Venezuela 7:30pm
May 6 – Brazil vs Venezuela 11am
May 6 – USA vs Venezuela 7:30pm
May 7 – USA vs Brazil 6:30pm
May 8 – USA vs Venezuela 10am
May 8 – USA vs Brazil 3:30pm

Exhibitions – Free Admission
May 1 – USA “B” vs Brazil USA “B” Wins 10-7
May 3 – USA “B” vs Brazil 1:30pm
May 6 – USA “B” vs Brazil 6pm
May 7 – USA “B” vs Venezuela 5pm
May 8 – USA “B” vs Venezuela 5pm

I had the privilege of speaking at the CIF girls water polo banquet last night at the Knotts Berry Farm Hotel. I was inspired by the young women that worked so hard to help their teams reach the common goal. I wish I could play in another CIF Championship. There is so much water polo talent out there. The USA should win the next 10 Olympics.

It was a great day to play water polo. The sun was out, Common Sense was playing live reggae, and we won the game.

San Juan Capistrano May 2, 2010.

OCWPC 2, 3, 3, 4 total 12
Brasil 2, 1, 1, 4 total 8

OCWPC: Hewko 2, Janov 3, Sarusi, Sbutega 2, Bakic, Bielskis 2, Skaljac
Brasil: Nolasco, Franco, Crivella 2, Almeida, Coelho 2, Moniz

The National Water Polo league is hosting the Brazilian National Water Polo Team in an exhibition game at JSerra on Sunday 2pm. Common Sense will be performing all afternoon. Updates will be provided on Monday.

Klatt Named Women’s Senior National Team Assistant Coach

Dan Klatt, a 2004 Olympian and Head Coach of the UC-Irvine Women’s Water Polo Team will join the USA Women’s Senior National Team Coaching Staff as an Assistant Coach, Head Coach Adam Krikorian announced today. Klatt led the Senior “B” Team to a first place finish at the Canada Cup in late 2009 and returns to the National Team scene after a decorated playing career.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with some of the best water polo minds and talent in the world,” said Klatt. “It is an honor to be a part of the team that represents the greatest country in the world in the sport of water polo. I consider myself very fortunate to be a part of USA Water Polo. I look forward to learning from the coaching staff and athletes, and helping the United States win a gold medal in London.”

Klatt is a 2001 graduate of UC-Irvine and helped guide the Anteaters to a Big West Tournament Championship in 2009 in the conference’s inaugural season. He competed with the USA Men’s Senior National Team during the early part of the 2000s and was part of the group that took home a seventh place finish at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

“I’m very excited that Dan will be continuing with us as we move forward. He was an important addition for the fall and his experience and success as an athlete and a coach speak for itself. Dan’s work ethic, enthusiasm, and passion for the sport will undoubtedly have a positive effect on the entire group,” said Krikorian.

Krikorian, Klatt, and recently named Assistant Coach Heather Moody will take the sidelines together for the first time in late June when Team USA hosts China.

Klatt replaces Aaron Chaney who will join the Women’s Junior National Team as an Assistant Coach.

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 Championships. With more than 35,000 members, USAWP is also the sanctioning authority for more than 500 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.

Big West Tournament Champion

ANTEATERS WIN BIG WEST TOURNAMENT: The No. 16 UC Irvine women’s water polo team (15-14, 3-2) won their second straight Big West Tournament title Sunday as they defeated Cal State Northridge 12-11 at 49er Pool in Long Beach.

Freshman Jessy Cardey (Riverside/Poly HS) was named MVP of the tournament after scoring six goals in the tournament including the goal that would be the eventual tournament winning goal against the Matadors.

BIG WEST TOURNAMENT REVIEW: The No. 4 seed ‘Eaters defeated No. 5 UC Davis 9-3 Friday afternoon and then knocked off No. 1 seed Pacific 10-7 Saturday to advance to the championship. UCI then defeated No. 2 seed CSUN 12-11 in the final to win back to back Big West Tournament titles.

Cardey and junior Cortney Collyer (Santa Barbara HS) each had six goals to lead the team during the tournament. Sophomore keeper Morgan Vickers (Newport Harbor HS) had 22 saves over the three matches.

Additionally, Cardey was named NCAA.com’s Player of the Week following the Big West Tournament.

ANTEATER LEADERS: Cortney Collyer led the team with 43 goals on the year. Junior Caitlin Haskell (Fresno/Buchanan HS) was second with 41 goals. Jessy Cardey was third with 34 goals. Kat Plummer was fourth with 31. Senior Erin Kiene (Fresno/Clovis West HS) was fifth with 26. Morgan Vickers had 94 saves to lead the ‘Eaters.

UCI RANKED 16TH IN NATION: The Anteaters are ranked 16th in the country in the National Collegiate Water Polo poll. UCI has been ranked as high as 9th this season. The ‘Eaters ended the 2009 season ranked 9th nationally following their Big West Tournament championship.

ANTEATERS IN THE RECORD BOOK: Senior Kat Plummer (Thousand Oaks HS) is sixth all-time with 128 goals. Cortney Collyer is eighth with 88 goals and Caitlin Haskell is 10th with 83 goals. Erin Kiene is 11th with 75 goals. Keeper Morgan Vickers is third with 208 saves and junior Lauren Davis (Downey HS) is fifth all-time with 197 saves.

COACH KLATT: Head coach Dan Klatt is in his sixth season leading the ‘Eaters. He was named 2009 Big West Coach of the Year after guiding UCI to the Big West Tournament championship and a Big West regular season tri-championship. He is 105-80 in his first six seasons at the helm.

WATER POLO

The Gulliver Prep boys’ water polo team came one step closer to a state title Tuesday after defeating defending state champion Belen Jesuit 12-7.

Matthew Friedland led host Gulliver with four goals and three assists. Jose Mujica added three goals in the state play-in game.

The Raiders jumped out to an early 4-0 lead to finish the first quarter in front of a large crowd of cheering fans.

Raiders goalkeeper Kenny Cutler was instrumental in the win, blocking 15 shots on goal, including four straight point-blank attempts to close out the first half.

“We had a lot of preparation for this game,” Cutler said. “We went up early, which was great.”

Gulliver’s tough defense limited the Wolverines to only two goals by halftime.

The Wolverines surged back in the second half, narrowing the Raiders’ lead to two goals with four minutes left to play.

Gulliver coach Carroll Vaughan called a timeout to limit Belen’s rally after Will Johnson scored two quick goals. The Raiders responded to Vaughan’s instructions, scoring three straight goals to finish the game.

The specialized training program has been designed to instantly improve your game. Athletes work in small groups of 4-6 kids with similar skill levels and 1 coach joins each group in the water. There is a focus on the fundamentals while incorporating a few new tricks. Boys and girls ages 7-17 will have the opportunity to work in the water with Olympic and world class athletes. The academy runs 9 am – 11 am on Sundays until June 6th.

Schedule of Activities

Typical 2 hour Academy
15 min – Dry-Land Conditioning (includes water polo specific exercises to improve egg beater and core strength.) These exercises should become part of the daily routine of any water polo player that wants to improve their performance in the water.

15 mins of Dry-Land Skills -Individualized body position analysis for passing and shooting
*** Goalies do 15 minutes of positioning and reaction drills

30 minute position specific in water warm-up including defensive body positioning, egg beater analysis, passing and shooting.

***Goalies***
30 minutes – goalie specific drills focusing on lateral movement and explosiveness.

45 minutes of personalized instruction tailored to make an immediate impact on your game drills will vary for individual
Offensive drills
Defensive drills
Blocking
Passing

10 minutes Penalty Shots

5 minutes reflect on the mental aspect of the game and review the different drills and instruction for the day. We also project the next weeks events and instruction.