The USA Water Polo Men’s Senior National Team, complete with 12 Southern California natives, returns to action later this month in an exhibition match against the Italian Men’s National Team. Team USA will meet Italy, the 2012 Olympic Silver Medalists and 2011 FINA World Champions, at Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach, CA on December 28 at 2pm. This will mark the first competition for the United States since finishing in fourth place at the 2014 FINA World Cup. Tickets for the match are on-sale now and can be purchased by clicking here. Tickets will be $20 for USA Water Polo members and $25 for non-USA Water Polo members.
Four-time Olympian Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) joins team captain John Mann (Newport Beach, CA/California/NYAC), and three-time Olympian Jesse Smith (Coronado, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) as veterans leading a 17 man roster that will begin training in Orange County on December 20 in the lead-up to competition. Much of the rest of the roster features some of the top talent in the collegiate game today, including many that call Orange County home. In addition to Mann, Josh Samuels (Villa Park, CA/UCLA/NYAC), Bret Bonanni(Huntington Beach, CA/Stanford/Stanford), Nolan McConnell (Laguna Beach, CA/Long Beach St./SET), Luca Cupido (Newport Beach, CA/California/Newport Beach WPC), Anthony Daboub(Newport Beach, CA/UCLA/Bruin), and McQuin Baron (North Tustin, CA/USC/Regency) all played their high school water polo in the OC.
“This training and competition opportunity with Italy, one of the best teams in the world, will be great for our team. I am excited to have our team together as we continue to work on our goal of Olympic qualification. I’m also looking forward to our fans coming out to cheer on Team USA in an exhibition match at a great venue for high level water polo, Newport Harbor High School,” said Dejan Udovicic, USA Water Polo Men’s National Team Head Coach.
Men’s National Team Roster – Exhibition Match Vs. Italy
Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC)
Jesse Smith (Coronado, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC)
John Mann (Newport Beach, CA/California/NYAC)
Janson Wigo (Ft. Lauderdale, FL/Stanford/NYAC)
Josh Samuels (Villa Park, CA/UCLA/NYAC)
Alex Bowen (Santee, CA/Stanford/Stanford)
Bret Bonanni (Huntington Beach, CA/Stanford/Stanford)
Alex Obert (Loomis, CA/Pacific/Sac Polo)
Conner Cleary (Goleta, CA/Stanford/Stanford)
Nolan McConnell (Laguna Beach, CA/Long Beach St./SET)
Jackson Kimbell (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/Newport WPC)
Luca Cupido (Newport Beach, CA/California/Newport Beach WPC)
Anthony Daboub (Newport Beach, CA/UCLA/Bruin)
Nikola Vavic (Palos Verdes, CA/USC/Trojan)
McQuin Baron (North Tustin, CA/USC/Regency)
Drew Holland (Orinda, CA/Stanford/Lamorinda)
Ben Hallock (Studio City, CA/Harvard Westlake (HS)/Bruin)
Newport Harbor High School is located at 600 Irvine Ave, Newport Beach, CA 92663.
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 throughout the US. It fosters grass-roots expansion of the sport, providing a national system of affiliated clubs, certified coaches and officials.
Water Polo News courtesy of USA Water Polo.
