By Editor’s Note: The end is already here for the 2021 water polo season. TWp looks back on the five biggest story lines of the year. Today we focus on what challenges from the previous year will carry on into 2022. This year will be pivotal for American water polo for
Top Five Stories from 2021: No 4—Tokyo Olympics
Editor’s Note: The end is near! 2021 is almost in the books, so TWp is looking back on the five biggest story lines of the year. Today we focus on the spectator-less 2020 Tokyo Games in and how an aging Serbian men’s team and a dominant U.S. women’s team overcame
On The Record with Tony Karaman: “It Was Tough But Water Polo Survived”
Despite being plagued by uncertainty, this year’s men’s varsity water polo season—which ended a week ago with Cal capturing a record 15th NCAA title thanks to a 13-12 win over USC in the 2021 title match—represented a much-needed return to normalcy. The uncertainty was due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic,
Sixth is Better Than Tenth… But No Gold in Tokyo for US Men’s Water Polo
Prior to the 2016 Olympics in Rio, in what became a notable moment for a sport not particularly known for being notable, U.S. men’s water polo coach Dejan Udovicic made a bold prediction to ESPN: “I am guaranteeing it,” Udovicic said. “Gold medal in 2020.” He was half right. For
Preview of Tokyo Olympics Men’s Water Polo: Serbia, Beware the Upstart Italians
Men’s water polo group play at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics opens on Saturday at the Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center when the United States faces host Japan. 12 teams will compete to advance for eight spots in the quarterfinals; the Olympic men’s final will be held on August 8. Click
Tantalizing Polo Possibilities For U.S. Senior Men Snatched Away by COVID
For members of the U.S. men’s national water polo team—and devoted polo fans famished for competition of any sort— the HEP Cup represented a beacon of hope. A little over a week ago it was announced that the American men, who currently number 18 scattered across Europe with professional teams
On The Record with Double Olympian Brad Schumacher
It’s possible that Brad Schumacher never slows down. Once one of the fastest swimmers in the world, the 43-year-old Schumacher now races around the globe as president of Kap7, one of the world’s largest suppliers of water polo equipment. It’s a far cry from his youth in Bowie, Maryland, 20
On the Record with W&J’s Nikola Malezanov
Few people in America are as involved in water polo as Nikola Malezanov. This summer he coached the U.S. Men’s Cadet National Team at the Darko Cukic Memorial Tournament where Team USA went undefeated, stunning host Serbia as well as Croatia on its way to a first-ever title. Just as
By Udovicic Praises US Team’s “Potential,” New Officiating Methods, After Loss to Hungary
USA Men’s National Team Coach Dejan Udovicic says his team can be competitive with “everyone” in 18 months to two years. That in a Hungarian TV interview after his young team fell to their top-ranked hosts 12-6 on Wednesday. Alex Bowen scored twice in the loss in which 16-yr-old Connecticut
