PoloCAST

One of three finalists for the 2019-20 Cutino Award presented annually by the Olympic Club in San Francisco for the most outstanding player in the collegiate game, Rade Joksimovic is arguably the best water polo player in the history of the Bison program.  As a senior in 2019 he earned Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Division I First Team All-America honors.  The inaugural Bucknell water polo player to earn First Team All-America recognition, the laurel marked his fourth All-America nod after previously garnering Second Team honors in 2018, Honorable Mention in 2017 and Third Team honors in 2016. The senior joined Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Hall of Fame member Scott Schulte as the only multi-time All-America selection in Bucknell men’s water polo history last season, and stands alone as the only Bison to ever earn a spot on the All-America teams three times.  A four-time Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Player of the Year honoree and the 2019 MAWPC Championship Player of the Tournament, Joksimovic proved an instrumental part in helping Bucknell win the title to advance to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships for just the second time since 1985. In the Bucknell record books, Joksimovic finished his Bucknell career second in points (714), second in goals (527), fifth in assists (187), first in steals (317), and tenth in ejections drawn (124). The senior also finished his career having started the most games in Bucknell history (120) The sole athlete named to the 2019 ACWPC First, Second or Third Team All-America teams from an institution not in the state of California, he stands as the most honored men’s water polo athlete from any institution outside the state of the California in the history of the sport as the four-time MAWPC First Team selection and MAWPC Championship All-Tournament First Team pick (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019); 2016 MAWPC Rookie of the Year, 2016 MAWPC Championship Rookie of the Tournament; 2016, 2018 and 2019 MAWPC Championship Most Valuable Player; 11-time MAWPC Player of the Week; seven-time MAWPC Rookie of the Week; and two-time MAWPC Rookie of the Week concluded his tenure among the best-of the-best in the history of NCAA water polo.

A 2006 inductee to the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Hall of Fame, former Bucknell University standout Scott Schulte ’81 was an All-East water polo selection four straight years (1977-80), led the Bison to four Eastern Championships and set an all-time NCAA water polo career scoring record with 586 goals. The high scorer in four straight NCAA Tournaments (the only player to accomplish this feat) and holder of the career record of 50 goals in NCAA Championships, Schulte played on Bucknell teams that had a combined record of 114-15-3, and he was a Second Team All-America in 1979 and 1980. He was the only player outside of California selected to those All-America squads. In non-collegiate play, he was twice selected to the United States Water Polo (USWP) All-America First Team, and seven times in his career finished in the top six of an East Coast Conference Swimming Championship event. He won Bucknell’s Christy Mathewson Award, which recognizes the top athlete in the senior class, in 1981. Schulte was a member of the U.S. National Team from 1980-84, was a First Team Indoor All-America from 1981-85, was Most Valuable Player at the Indoor Nationals in 1981 and 1984, and competed in the World University Games in 1981. He was inducted into the Bucknell Hall of Fame in 1986.

The head men’s water polo coach at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 2014-to-2017, Dave Andriole ranks third in career victories at MIT behind Collegiate Water Polo Association Hall of Fame member John Benedick and Jeff Ma. Involved in water polo as a player and coach for more than 30 years, Andriole has been involved in the sport on the collegiate, national, and international levels. In 1995, he was a founding member and player/coach of KAOS Water Polo based in Los Angeles. Most recently, from 2011 until the summer of 2014, he was the head coach of West Hollywood Aquatics Water Polo, and also coached at Westside Aquatics in Palisades, California. A graduate of Yale University where he earned his B.A. in history in 1986, Andriole earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Northwestern University School of Law in 1989. While at Yale, he was a varsity water polo player and swimmer, and helped train and coach its men’s and women’s club teams. An attorney, Andriole has returned to his roots in film and production as the former Engineers' leader is working in the entertainment industry. Currently a production attorney for CBS Television Distribution, he previously worked Business and Legal Affairs with Chassy Media, a full service production company as well as a distribution company, which acquired and created content featuring “the best in automotive and motor-related media”. Further, he has remained active in the performance sector as a voice actor and was a member of the loop crew for productions including the feature films “IT” and “Independence Day: Resurgence.” A working actor prior to assuming the head coach role at MIT, he has appeared on television in shows such as “The West Wing”, “Monk”, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”, “CSI: Miami”, “Beverly Hills: 90210”, “Baywatch” and “Bones”.  Further, he provided work for video games, including “Star Wars: The Old Republic”, “Grand Theft Auto V”, and feature films.

The men’s water polo head coach at Johns Hopkins University for 27 years, Ted Bresnahan coached the Blue Jays for all but three of the program’s varsity seasons. He took over as the program’s fourth head coach in 1991 and turned Hopkins into one of the premier Division III water polo programs in the nation. Bresnahan led JHU to a 414-389 (.515) record, while competing primarily against Division I competition, and he is just the fifth head coach in any sport in Johns Hopkins’ history to reach 400 wins. Bresnahan coached 65 Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-America selections, including 31 first team picks, a record five national Players of the Year and five College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America recipients. JHU has produced at least one All-America selection in every season since 1996. In addition, Bresnahan led the Blue Jays to a record 17 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championships and six times Hopkins has been ranked number one in the nation in the season’s final poll. He was named the ACWPC National Coach of the Year in 2005, 2008, and 2015.

Among the leading officials in the collegiate game, Alex Stankevitch is a regular fixture on the deck for some of the most important games on the domestic and international stages. A Social Studies and Special Education High School teacher in south New Jersey when not officiating, Stankevitch emigrated to the United States from Belarus and graduated from the University of California-Santa Barbara. During his time at Merced College and UC-Santa Barbara, he began to officiate ultimately rising to his current position in the collegiate game.

Co-founder of KAP7 International, Brad Schumacher has experienced success in athletics and business. A former swimmer, water polo player and Olympic gold medalist. Schumacher is a two-time, two-sport Olympian. He was a member of the winning relay teams at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Four years later, he was a member of the U.S. men's water polo team at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Schumacher's two gold medals came as a member of the U.S. men's swimming relay teams at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia: in the men's 4X100-meter freestyle relay and in the men's 4X200-meter freestyle relay. He qualified for both swimming and water polo for the 2000 Olympic Games, but chose to compete only in water polo. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, he helped the U.S. men's water polo team to a sixth-place finish. He was the top sprinter at the 2000 Olympics, with 20 sprints won. The first American world champion in swimming and water polo since the 1904 Olympic Games, he earned a gold medal at the Pan-Pacific Games in 1997 and his first national championship at the U.S. Spring Nationals. In water polo, he represented the U.S. at the FINA World Championships, FINA World Cup, World University Games and the Goodwill Games. In 1998, Schumacher competed in World Championships in both sports and joined an elite group of aquatics stars that competed in both sports on the world-class level: Duke Khanamoku, Johnny Weissmuller, Bob Hughes and Matt Biondi. A swimming and water polo All-America selection at the University of the Pacific, he is the co-founder of KAP7 International, Inc., a water polo equipment company, with former Olympic teammate Wolf Wigo and he spends his spare time as the head coach of SET water polo club, a Southern California-based team that continues to rank among the top water polo clubs in the country.

A 2004 inductee to the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Hall of Fame, Paul Barren became involved in water polo while attending college at West Chester University. While swimming competitively for the West Chester swim team, he began to learn to play water polo with the school’s club team. After graduation, Barren played with the Philadelphia Water Polo Club, a team composed mostly of German and Hungarian ex-patriots. The level of play he encountered with the team piqued his interest in the sport and he began to pursue it with vigor.  While teaching math and serving as an assistant football coach at Lower Moreland High School outside Philadelphia in the late 1960’s, Barren received permission from the school’s athletic department to start a water polo program. He coached the team for the next twenty years, taking his athletes on trips to Europe to compete in Germany and the Netherlands and compiling a record of 444-117-5.  The only official in the league Hall of Fame, Barren began officiating collegiate water polo games in the early 1970’s for the newly formed Mid Atlantic Conference. He also officiated AAU games during the summer and earned national certification in 1973. As Barren’s stature in the officiating community grew, he was able to earn a FINA rating as an international referee in 1978.  For his contributions to the sport of water polo, Barren was elected to the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1995 and inducted at a ceremony in Seattle, Wash. in 1997.

A former University of Michigan Assistant Director of Athletics Communications, Harvard University Water Polo Operations Assistant and The Full-On Sports Hub (FOSH) co-creator Ryan Sosin has been on the forefront of collegiate water polo over the past decade plus. A four-time CWPA Western Division Sports Information Director (SID) of the Year with honors in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, Sosin completed a four-year tenure as an Assistant Director of Media Relations at Michigan. During his time in Ann Arbor,  the water polo team won the CWPA Eastern Championship three times (2008, 2009, 2011) and the men’s swimming and diving team won the Big Ten Championship in 2010-11. A 2007 Michigan alum and Bloomfield Hills, Mich., native, he helped his alma mater host the 2011 NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championship prior to departing for graduate school. The recipient of a Master of Business Administration from Boston University in 2013, Sosin returned to the sport of water polo as the inaugural Operations Manager for the Harvard men’s and women’s programs from January 2013-to-April 2014. He has remained in the Boston market and has prior experience in development, business and technology with StubHub, Hudl, Sideline Swap, the NBC Digital News division and most recently as a Senior Product Manager with Rightpoint. In addition, he co-founded The Full-On Sports Hub which ushered in a new era for water polo sports information for the 2014 NCAA men’s season with the launch of The FOSH for Water Polo. The leader in the field of web-based statistics for water polo, The FOSH for Water Polo provides a platform for inputting game events as they happen and publishing them in real-time via its FOSH Live feature. The platform also allows school’s to provide online box scores, individual and team statistical reports, and on-demand national, conference and tournament leaderboards.

A three-time All-America selection (2013, 2015: Second Team; 2016: First Team), Ao Gao was a member of the women's national team for China which claimed a Silver Medal at the 2007 World Junior Championship, Ao Gao competed at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, and London, England, respectively. A native of Beijing and a graduate of Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism and a Master of Arts in Sports Journalism, she compiled 131 goals, 100 assists, and 131 steals during a four-year career that spanned 2012-14 and 2016. She is currently an Associate Editor with ESPN under the international production department with the ESPN China group. She has been working on various projects this past year, specializing in X Games features, tennis feature content, Special Olympics distribution as well as assisting on NBA on-court game coverage and features production. Named a 2013 Arthur Ashe Jr Sports Scholar, she attended the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after claiming a coveted spot in the ASU Cronkite School of Journalism Olympics program in 2016 to cover the Olympics as a graduate student. One of her feature stories was selected by the Society of Professional Journalists and won the National Television Sports Photography award in 2016. Past experience in sports journalism includes jobs with the Pac-12 Networks, ESPN, the Doug Ducey campaign for Governor of Arizona and with Will Ferrell's Funny or Die.

Arguably one of the most influential water polo officials over the past 50-years, Andy Takata made his impact on the deck and behind the scenes to elevate the game.  In addition to wearing the whites at the most prestigious water polo events on earth, Takata volunteered his time to the sport in a variety of governance roles and developmental ventures. A 12-year member of the USA Water Polo Board of Directors a past member of the UANA Technical Water Polo Committee, and advocate for referee development and recruitment, he served as Commissioner of the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) and most recently was part of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Technical Committee and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Evaluators Group.  Among the premier officials of the game, he started calling the game in 1978 and rose to calling the NCAA Championship by 1981.  He traveled the world representing the United States and whistled matches at the 2000 Olympic Games, 1998 FINA World Championships, three FINA World Cups, several US Olympic Festivals, and countless other international, collegiate and domestic championships.

A veteran collegiate and national team coach, John Abouu serves as the Chief High Performance Officer for USA Water Polo. In this position Abdou oversees the Olympic Development Program in addition to coach education, events and growth.  Formerly the Associate Head Coach for men's water polo at the University of California-Santa Barbara and Director/Boy's Head Coach of the Santa Barbara Water Polo Club,  Abdou spent five years at Bucknell University, the last two serving as Head Coach of both the men's and women's programs. Within USA Water Polo, Abdou has remained active in the National Team pipeline in his position as ODP East Region Technical Director since 2008. Since 2010 he has also been a part of the coaching staff of the Men's Senior National "B" Team.

A 2019 graduate of Harvard University with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Anthropology and Economics, Kristen Hong was a two-time Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-America selection with Honorable Mention recognition in 2018 and 2019.  A three-time All-Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) selection with Second (2017, 2018) and First Team (2019) recognition, she concluded her time in Cambridge as the Crimson program’s all-time leading scorer with 275 goals.  A three-time All-CWPA Championship All-Tournament selection (2018: Second Team; 2017, 2019 – First Team), she helped Harvard achieve a pair of the program’s five 20-win seasons (24-9 in 2017, 21-8 in 2019).

Appointed the Collegiate Water Polo Association's Director of Communications in July 2006, Ed Haas is responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining an effective and creative communications program, including: designing, writing, and editing media guides, press releases and other promotional materials; coordinating the national varsity, club, Division III and Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) polls; creating and maintaining the organization’s web pages. Outside the office, he serves as a member of the CoSIDA Academic All-America Committee, West Sadsbury Township (Pa.) Planning Commission and participated on the Western Chester County (Pa.) Regional Fire Department Committee which consolidated three companies into the Keystone Valley Fire Department. In March 2015, Haas was appointed to the three-member West Sadsbury Township Board of Supervisors, the Keystone Valley Fire District Board and was elected Vice-Chairman of both the Board of Supervisors and Fire District Board in April of 2015. He was re-elected to another six-year term on the West Sadsbury Township Board of Supervisors in the Fall of 2017 and was elected Chairman of both the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors in January 2020.

A 2010 inductee to the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame, Bret Bernard has been called on to whistle every major water polo championship in existence, including the Olympic Games in 1992 (Barcelona) and 1996 (Atlanta). Bernard has officiated multiple World Championships, World Cups, Junior World Championships and Goodwill Games among many other international competitions. Domestically, Bernard wore the whites for every conceivable USA Water Polo Championship, including Junior Olympic and National Championships. On the collegiate level, has officiated numerous collegiate men's and women's championships, including an incredible 14 straight men's NCAA championship games.  As a player, Bernard was a USA Water Polo, AAU, NCAA and high school All-America selection, played for the United States Men's National Team and was an Alternate to the 1972 (Munich) Olympic Games.  He served USA Water Polo on the Executive Committee for 15 years. He was elected USA Water Polo Treasurer (1988-90), Vice-President (1990-1996) and President (1996-2001).  Bernard also served upon the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Board of Directors for 15 years and upon its Finance Committee for six years. In addition, he was the first non-European President of AIA (international referees association), served as its Vice-President for six years and upon its Executive Board for 10 years.  He also served upon the FINA-Technical Committee for five years as was inaugural Director of Water Polo Officials for the NCAA. Currently a member of the CWPA’s Technical Committee, he was honored in 2010 as USA Water Polo created the Bret Bernard Distinguished Referee Award - presented to officials calling the game at its highest levels.

Hired as the head coach of the Arizona State University - Sun Devils women’s water polo team in 2005 after serving a single season as an assistant coach, Todd Clapper has led the Sun Devils to perennial placements in the national Top-10 rankings and three NCAA Championship appearances. Clapper came to the Valley of the Sun with a wealth of coaching experience. Following his graduation from Slippery Rock University in 1997, he stayed on with his alma mater and served as an assistant coach for the women’s team for one season before taking on assistant coaching duties at Villanova University. After a one-year head coaching stint at Wissahickon High School in Ambler, Pa., Clapper took over at Brown University where he mentored a pair of teams as the head coach for both the men’s and women’s water polo squads from 1998-2004. For his efforts at Brown he earned several Coach of the Year awards, including New England (2000), Eastern Championship (2001 and 2003), Northern Division (2002) and Northeastern (2004). A four-year letter winner for Slippery Rock University, helping the team attain a Top-15 national ranking. As the starting goalie, he captained the team as a senior in 1996, the same year he was also selected second-team all-conference. A walk-on that became the starter in goal by the end of his sophomore season, he graduated Cum Laude with a BS in Exercise Science (aquatic emphasis) and also attained a minor in Adapted Physical Activity and Rehabilitation. Since coming to Tempe, Clapper has also been busy working with international teams. He served as the 2005 U.S. Junior National Team assistant coach before being selected as the 2006 U.S. Youth National coach. That year, he led the youth team into the Pan-Am Championships in Montreal, Canada where the team, playing up an age level, brought home gold. For his efforts he was named the 2006 USOC National Water Polo Coach of the Year. In 2008 and 2009 Clapper was the head coach of the New Zealand Women’s National Team. The Alliance for Diversity and Equity in Water Polo: Instagram and Twitter: @TheAlliance_wp #theAllianceWP

A member of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Board of Directors and a past athlete in the league at the University of Notre Dame, Brian Coughlin has excelled as the head coach of his alma mater's Fighting Irish women's water polo program. They have accrued 12 Midwest Division Championships and 8 Division Runners-up. Coughlin has led Notre Dame to Second (2009, 2015), Fourth (2002), Sixth (2001, 2010), Seventh (2000), Ninth (2006, 2013, 2014), 10th (2008, 2019), 11th (2007) and 12th (2012) place finishes at the Women's National Collegiate Club Championship during his tenure as volunteer Head Coach. In addition to his water polo commitment, Coughlin serves as the Associate Vice President for Student Development at The University of Notre Dame where he oversees the Office of Community Standards, the Gender Relations Center, Multicultural Student Programs & Services, the Student Activities Office, Student Media, and the Notre Dame Band.  Previously, Mr. Coughlin served in the role of Assistant Vice President from 2007 to 2010 and Director of Student Activities from 2001 to 2007, leading the Student Activities Office through a period of substantial growth. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Government and Theology from Notre Dame in 1995 and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from West Virginia University in 1997.

Appointed head coach of the California Baptist University women's water polo team in the spring of 2014 following time as an assistant for both the men's water polo and swimming and diving programs starting in 2012, Jon Miller has made a mark at his alma mater. In seven seasons, CBU has gone 126-90 under Miller and finished a program-best third in the Golden Coast Conference in 2016. The Lancers have produced 14 All-America selections and 21 All-GCC selections under Miller. Hannah Evans also earned back-to-back NCAA Division II Player of the Year honors in 2015-16.  The former standout water polo player for the Lancers came to CBU after three seasons as the head women's water polo coach and assistant swimming and diving coach at Grove City College in Grove City, Pa. Miller led the Wolverines to Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012, and was named 2010 CWPA Division III Coach of the Year. During his tenure with Gove City, the Wolverines racked up a 52-34 record, including a program best 18-8 mark his last season. He also helped lead the Wolverine men's and women's swimming and diving teams to three straight Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) championships. With both a bachelor's and master's of science in kinesiology from CBU, Miller also served as an assistant professor of physical education at Grove City for three years. A 2008 graduate of Cal Baptist prior to staying on as a graduate assistant for the men's and women's water polo programs while he earned his master's degree, Miller was a four-year standout goalie for the Lancers and has the third-most saves in program history with 1,025. His 415 saves in 2007 are still the highest single season total in program history and his 22 saves against Pepperdine in 2007, which still sits second all-time.

Ryan Castle has traveled the world, speaks 5 languages, and has coached water polo at all levels from youth to National Teams. He began his varsity collegiate coaching career at Arizona State University under former Brown University head coach Todd Clapper from 2007-to-2010. In addition to serving on the women’s water polo varsity staff, he served as head coach for the ASU men’s collegiate club team. He helped lead the Sun Devils to a third-place finish at the 2008 National Collegiate Club Championships in 2008 at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, as the program finished Third (2007), First (2008) and Second (2009) in the Southwest Division during his time in Tempe, Arizona. Castle accrued four years of experience at CWPA Division I institutions by working a three-year stint as an assistant at Hartwick College under Alan Huckins. From there he went to the University of Michigan under then Wolverines’ coach/now Connecticut College head coach Matt Anderson from 2013-2014. Serving as the associate head coach for the University of Hawaii in 2015 and 2016 under head coach Maureen Cole, Castle helped guide the Rainbow Warriors to the 2015 Big West Tournament Championship and an appearance in the 2015 NCAA Championship. Castle served as an interim head coach during the 2016 season, and in that time Hawaii earned a 13-4 record. Ryan Castle is currently the Head Women's Water Polo Coach and Director of Club Sports at Carthage College. Ryan came to Carthage College in July 2019 following a three-year tenure at Indiana University where he compiled a 52-36 record from 2017-to-2019. Outside of the collegiate ranks, Castle honed his craft with international teams, both at the junior and senior levels. Most recently, Castle held the reigns as the head coach of the Kazakhstan Women’s Senior National Team, where he guided Kazakhstan to an appearance at the 2011 FINA World Championships in Shanghai, China. Kazakhstan’s 13th-place finish at the event was the fourth-highest in the country’s history. Before Kazakhstan, Castle served as the Video Analyst for the New Zealand senior team at the 2009 FINA World Championships. From 2007 to 2009, Castle worked in the US Olympic Development Program by running one of the United States’ under-18 zone teams. Castle had the opportunity to coach for his home nation of South Africa from 2002 to 2005, and again in 2011, where he assisted with the Women’s Senior National Team and served as head coach for the National “B” Team. In 2003, Castle took charge of the South African Women’s Junior National Team and assisted with the Men’s Junior Team. A native of Cape Town, South Africa, Castle graduated from the University of Cape Town in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in information systems and earned a post-graduate credential in education in 2003.

Katie Larson has achieved success in the water as an athlete at the University of Massachusetts and on the deck as head coach of the University of Florida women’s collegiate club team. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, she started playing water polo in 9th grade at Pace Academy in Atlanta and immediately fell in love with the sport and played all four years, both at Pace and at the Dynamo Water Polo club team of Atlanta, and made the Honorable Mention All-American team her senior year. She then enrolled at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she walked on to the Division I varsity women's water polo team.  She competed with UMass for three and a half years, during which time the team placed as high as Fifth in the nation, before returning to Atlanta to enroll in Graduate school and resume playing with the Dynamo team. Katie moved to Gainesville, FL, in 2004, and she began playing with the UF women's club team the next year. In 2007, she served as the volunteer assistant coach for UF, and in 2008 was given the honor of head coach. Larson, who led the Gators to the 2019 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship as Florida became the inaugural East Coast club team to win a National Championship in the sport of water polo, the 2018 and 2019 National Championship Coach of the Tournament has led Florida to become a dominant force in the ranks of club teams around the country. The 2018 Coach of the Tournament award for leading Florida to a Third Place finish Mt. Hood Community College prior to earning the 2019 honor for guiding the Gators to a 4-3 defeat of the University of California-Davis for the National Championship at the University of Notre Dame, has led the rise of Florida with fellow coach/husband Tim Larson.

Dr. Marcelo Leonardi enters his seventh season as the head coach of the University of Michigan Wolverines in 2021. In six seasons, Leonardi has recorded a 143-56 (.719) overall record at Michigan. He has guided the Wolverines to four NCAA appearances & four CWPA Championships in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and three first place conference finishes during the regular season. In just his second year at Michigan in 2016, Leonardi took the Wolverines to their highest point in the 16 years of the program. U-M achieved its highest ranking of all-time, No. 4, after placing 4th at the NCAA Championship. The Wolverines won the CWPA Championship for the sixth time and first since 2010, giving Leonardi his first college championship. He was named the Doc Hunkler Coach of the Tournament. The team finished with a 30-8 overall record. Named the 2014 and 2018 recipient of USA Water Polo's Sandy Nitta Distinguished Women's Coaching Award, Leonardi has been heavily involved with the national governing body since 2009. He served two cycles as the USA women's national youth team coach, leading Team USA to gold at the FINA Youth World Championship in Madrid, Spain in 2014 and to a fifth place finish in New Zealand in 2016. His gold medal in 2014 was the first Youth World Championship in USA Water Polo history. Leonardi has served as the national technical director for the women's Olympic Development Program (ODP) and has been associated with the organization since 2013. In his role with USA Water Polo, Leonardi oversees the implementation of training for all female athletes in the Olympic Development Program nationwide as well as competition at the national training and selection camps. Also, check out our new CWPA Remote - Professional Edition video series on YouTube. The first episode is available now with Nicole Freeman Womack - VP of Team Marketing and Business Operation for the NBA. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/FkB7Oh31Ru8

Lynn Kachmarik is a bona fide legend in the water polo community. The first woman to be inducted into the Collegiate Water Polo Association Hall of Fame, her career in aquatics spans four decades with a lengthy list of accomplishments. A 2003 inductee to the CWPA Hall of Fame, Kachmarik was among the first group of women inducted in the United States Water Polo Hall of Fame in 2004. She also is a member of the Bucks County Chapter of Pennsylvania’s Athletic Hall of Fame (2015), the Slippery Rock Athletic Hall of Fame (1991) and the Neshaminy High School Hall of Fame (1985). Beginning with her undergraduate athletic career as an All-America water polo player and swimmer for Slippery Rock University, Kachmarik went on to become a 12-year member of the U.S. Women’s National Water Polo Team. The first player for the national team outside of California, she appeared in three World Aquatic Championships (1980, 1984, and 1988), along with numerous FINA World Cup Championships. Kachmarik also captained the squad for half of her tenure. She also coached and served on the executive committee, helping guide the team at the World Aquatic Championships in Perth, Australia in 1993. Her playing career reached a crescendo in 2007, when she won a gold medal for 30+ Women’s Water Polo at the 2007 Aquatics World Championships at Stanford University. In 1981, she accepted a position at Bucknell University, working in various capacities for 18 years. Initially hired to coach women’s swimming and diving, she broke down another barrier with her appointment as men’s water polo coach two years later. This made her the first woman to coach any NCAA Division I men’s team sport. Kachmarik also held the positions of Director of Aquatics and Head Women’s Water Polo Coach. The Bison inducted her into their Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015. Kachmarik would parlay 18 years at Bucknell into 16 years working a number of positions in South Bend, Indiana. She spent 10 years as the Director of Athletics and Recreation for Division III Saint Mary’s College, followed by a one-year stint with the South Bend/Mishawaka Convention and Visitors Bureau as their executive director. Another domino fell in 2009 when she became the first woman to hold a top executive position for a minor league baseball team, serving as Vice President and General Manager for the South Bend Silver Hawks. After two seasons with the Silver Hawks, she worked as General Manager for the South Bend Country Club, and became the National Director of Growth for the Play Like a Champion Today Program at Notre Dame. Today, Kachmarik is a renowned global speaker and educator on leadership, cultural change embraced by empathy, character development and vulnerability. She currently serves as president of Equilibria in Sports as well as Equilibria in Education. Lynn is also the founder and owner of True Brand Sports LLC, which provides workshops around the world to improve the sport culture at the youth, high school, collegiate and professional levels.

She was an Olympic Swimmer at age 16, has been a professional poker player, and remains a pioneer and in the sport of Water Polo. The recipient of the 2012 International Swimming Hall of Fame Paragon Award, Sandy Nitta began by participating in competitive swimming and developing her swimming skills to become a member of the 1964 USA Olympic Swim Team competing in the breaststroke. She coached swimming for a few years prior to turning her attention to the development of water polo. The founder of the City of Commerce (Calif.) Water Polo program which she led to multiple national championships, Nitta served as the USA’s Women’s International Chairperson from 1976 to 1978. From 1980 to the present, she has given water polo clinics all around the world including New Zealand, Australia, England, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Singapore, India, France, Germany, Brazil and Mexico. In 1977, Commerce hosted the first-ever Women’s International Tournament in the United States and Sandy was the Tournament Director. She was one of the original coaches who began the push for the inclusion of women’s water polo at the Olympic Games, which became a reality in 2000 during the Sydney Games. She was the first Head Coach for the United States Junior National Team (1979). For 17 years (1980-1996, 1998), she was head coach of the USA Senior National Team. She was also head coach of the Queensland, Australia State Team (1996) and the Brazilian Senior National Team (1999-2002) where she coached at the first Pan American Games to include women’s water polo and the first-ever wins against the United States by the Brazilian team. For two years (2000-2002), she was coach of the Tualatin Hills Water Polo Club in Portland, Oregon and then Head Coach of Team Vegas in Las Vegas (1992-2000) and currently Team Vegas/Henderson (2002 to present). Other positions of leadership include: U.S. Water Polo Masters Advisory Committee (2008-2011), USA Water Polo Hall of Fame Committee (2006-2010), USA Water Polo Board of Directors (2010 to present), U.S. Olympic Development Director of the West Region (2011 to present) and Co-Chairperson of the USA Water Polo Coaches Association.  She is the first and only female water polo coach in the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame and in her honor, the “Sandy Nitta Distinguished Women’s Coach Award” is presented annually by USA Water Polo.

Ed Reed is the Coordinator of Officials for the Collegiate Water Polo Association and a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Referee Evaluators Group. He began his coaching tenure at Brown University in 1971 when he was named head coach of the men’s varsity swim team and club water polo team. In 1974, the men’s water polo team achieved varsity status as he built the program into an East Coast powerhouse by never experienced a losing season at Brown, compiling a career record of 420-159-5 in 20 years at the helm.  He led the Bears to 17-consecutive New England Championships and four Eastern Championships, including three straight from 1983-85, and a record ten Eastern Championship final appearances. Under Reed, the team made eleven NCAA tournament appearances, finishing sixth in 1983, 1984 and 1985. He received Eastern Water Polo League Coach of the Year honors in 1987 and 1989, was inducted into the Rhode Island Aquatic Hall of Fame in 1986, the Brown University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996, the United States Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1999, and the CWPA Hall of Fame in 2003. He also contributed to the sport on the national level, serving on the coaching staff of the United States Men’s National Water Polo Team from 1993-96. He was also elected President of the American Water Polo Coaches Association and served on several committees for United States Water Polo. In addition to his service to water polo, Reed continues to be active in swimming competing in the Pan Am Masters and US Masters Swimming Championships.

This is the third part of a special 3-part holiday release with Dan Sharadin. Here we get a chance to chat about water polo in general and talk to Dan about his long time coaching and playing the game. Thank you for listening and supporting the CWPA! #supportCWPA @CWPAWaterPolo www.collegiatewaterpolo.org

This is the second part of a special 3-part holiday release. In this series, we take a look at Dan Sharadin - the first (and current) commissioner of the CWPA. In this episode, we take a look at the CWPA over the years, from it's formation to what it is today and how Dan has helped shape that along the way. We hope you enjoy this episode and be sure to check back for part 3! Thank you for listening and supporting the CWPA! #supportCWPA @CWPAWaterPolo www.collegiatewaterpolo.org

In this the first part of a special 3-part holiday release. In this series, we take a look at Dan Sharadin - the first (and current) commissioner of the CWPA. This first episode takes a look at his early and family life that includes the adoption of his 5 (that's right, FIVE) children. We hope you enjoy this and look forward to parts 2 and 3. Thank you for listening and supporting the CWPA! #supportCWPA @CWPAWaterPolo www.collegiatewaterpolo.org

A native of Nis, Serbia, the Washington & Jefferson College men's and women's water polo head coach Nikola Malezanov took over the Presidents' programs following a successful tenure as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Water Polo Club and North Allegheny High School, where he won Pennsylvania state titles in 2011-12 and 2012-13. He is a veteran coach with approximately 20 years of experience on the deck, he has also been the assistant coach for the USA Water Polo Cadet National Team, the Great Lakes Zone head coach, as well as served on the staff for the US National Team at the World University Games and World League preliminary tournament along with a three-game series against Serbia in Southern California in December 2019. Malezanov gained experience in the collegiate ranks as a graduate assistant for swimming and water polo at Salem University (W.Va.) from 2007-2009. He then moved on to the United States Naval Academy as a coach with the club water polo team, eventually earning a spot on the varsity coaching staff. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Physical Education at the University of Nis and later received his Master’s in Education, Coaching and Exercise Science from Salem.

Connecticut College men’s and women’s head coach and former women’s head coach for the University of Michigan, Matt Anderson has garnered the third most wins in women’s collegiate water polo history. Since joining Connecticut College, the women’s team has captured the CWPA Division III Championship twice (2015, 2017) and the men’s team has set new school records for number of wins. In his time at the University of Michigan, he was named CWPA Western Division Coach of the Year six times and collected 332 wins and 10 division titles. His experience includes more than a decade of coaching high school programs, assistant coach for the United States Men’s Water Polo national junior, youth, and cadet teams, and head coach of the United States Women’s National B Team. He has also been involved in the administration side and is the only person to have ever served on all three of the NCAA’s water polo committees.

This episode is a special release for the holidays and gives us a chance to find out more about our host! George Gross, Jr. started at goaltender for an exceptional Yale University men’s water polo team from 1971-1973. Yale ruled the East during that time, winning the Eastern Championship three times, and competing at the NCAA Championship in 1972. In honor of his success, Gross was named first member of the Yale Water Polo Hall of Fame, CWPA Hall of Fame, Ontario Aquatics Hall of Fame, and Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame. Upon returning home to Canada after graduating from Yale, Gross played for the University of Toronto men’s team for two seasons and earned a roster spot on the Canadian Men’s National Team and enjoyed a long and successful career as an international player. He played in two Olympic Games (1976 and 1984), scoring the longest goal in Olympic water polo history versus China in 1984 and serving as Canada’s flag-bearer at the 1986 games. After the conclusion of his international playing career, Gross served as Head Coach of the Canadian Men’s National Team twice, from 1987-1991. In addition, he founded the Toronto City Golden Jets water polo club and served as head coach/player from 1980-84 and 1986-1991. Under his guidance, the club grew from 12 initial members to 125 members in men’s, women’s, junior and senior levels of play. Gross currently gives back as a commentator and announcer for water polo broadcasts.  He has done color commentary work on national television in Canada for three World Championships and two Olympic Games, while also providing play-by-play of the women’s international Canada Cup from Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada. The “Voice of the CWPA”, Gross has announced the Women’s NCAA Championship, the CWPA National Collegiate Club Championship (both men and women), the CWPA Championship, the CWPA Division III Championship and the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC). 

Fordham University former Head Coach, and current Associate Head Coach, Bill Harris enter his 17th season as part of the Rams' water polo program.  During his time at Fordham he has compiled five trips to the CWPA Championship (2009-10, 2013-15) and four to the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo (MAWPC) Championship (2016-19).  Under Harris' leadership, the Rams have seen sustained recent success, posting three straight winning seasons (2015-17), six straight seasons of at least 16 wins (2014-19), and a Top 20 national ranking in multiple seasons for the first time since the 1980s.  The team has also been recognized by the NCAA for its Academic Progress Rate (APR) score six times. Since 2004, Harris has brought respect back to Fordham as he helped 13 Rams earn All-CWPA Northern Division honors from 2005-14.  The former girls' varsity coach at Greenwich High School (Conn.), he served as the travel team coach for Greenwich Youth Water Polo from 2000-03, while also serving as an Age Group coach for the New York Athletic Club from 1995-2003. Harris was also the head coach for the NYAC Men's Team from 1982-87. A 1997 U.S. Water Polo Hall of Fame inductee, Harris had a prolific playing career at St. Francis College, where he was a 1966 NCAA All-America selection and a four-time Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) All-Star Team selection, while helping St. Francis to four ECAC Championships and an undefeated conference record in those four seasons. He later was selected to the St. Francis College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990. Following his collegiate career, Harris represented the New York Athletic Club from 1967-92, where he was a member of eight National Championship teams. He was selected First Team All-America eight times as a member of the NYAC, and was 1973 and 1977 MVP for the National Championship Tournaments. Harris was also named MVP of the NYAC Paul Wacker Tournament on three separate occasions (1975, 1978, and 1980), and earned MVP honors of the North American Cup in 1977.

Alan Huckins is in his third season as an assistant men's coach at the United States Air Force Academy. He previously spent 15 seasons as the head coach of the Hartwick College women’s water polo team prior to the program being discontinued after the 2018 season. During his 15 years on the Hartwick bench, he led the Hawks to 20 or more wins 14 times and compiled an overall record of 396-173. Under his guidance, the Hawks qualified for the NCAA Championships three times and captured three CWPA Eastern Championships (2004, 2006, 2007) in five title game appearances (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009). In addition, he coached four Olympians, and was named The CWPA Northern Division Coach of the Year four times (2005, 2006, 2007, and 2010). A 1992 graduate of Slippery Rock University, Huckins is an experienced coach on the international, collegiate, high school and club levels. Huckins served as assistant coach for the United States Women's National Water Polo "A" Team from 1995-1998 and also worked as an assistant coach for the U.S. Women's National "B" Team from 1993-1995. In addition, he has previous experiences as a head swimming/water polo coach at Florida Atlantic University, Bucknell University, Slippery Rock, The College of Saint Rose and Beyer High School (Calif.).

Barry King has risen to stand among the ranks of the premier coaches in the Collegiate Water Polo Association.  During his tenure at Indiana University, he guided the Hoosiers to 20 or more wins in 17 of 19 seasons with five conference championships and a staggering total of more than 400 wins.  He brought his excellence to Washington, D.C., where he serves as the head men's and women's coach at George Washington University.  Among the inaugural coaches to begin recruiting international student-athletes, he helped the GW men's team achieve the program's first league titles with back-to-back Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) crowns in 2017 and 2018.

Ted Minnis stands as the 10th and most successful mentor in the history of the men's and women's Water Polo programs at Harvard University. An aquatics tactician, Minnis coached the Crimson men to three Northeast Water Polo Conference titles (2016, 2017, 2019) and has led a resurgence of both the men's and women's teams at arguably the most prestigious school in the country.  Minnis' path to Cambridge is among the most unique in any collegiate sport.  Despite not competing in water polo beyond high school, the gregarious mentor of the Crimson came to Harvard following previous experience at Castilleja School in Palo Alto, the USA Water Polo National Youth Team, and the Stanford Water Polo club. Some of his accolades include the 2017 USA Water Polo Olympic Development Coach of the Year, a two-time Positive Coaching Alliance Coach of the Year finalist, and The Friends of Harvard Water Polo and James Herscot '58 Coach of Excellence.

A 2014 inductee to the CWPA Hall of Fame, former United States Naval Academy head coach Mike Schofield retired in 2013 after leading the Midshipmen to nine CWPA/Eastern Championships during his 29-year tenure on the Navy bench as the squad competed in 13 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournaments. Twenty-one Navy athletes earned 31 All-America honors under Schofield, and Navy was represented on the All-America team in each of the last 14 years of his career. Schofield is the school’s all-time winningest coach, compiling an astonishing 631 wins in 28+ years in charge of the Navy water polo program.

We are launching a new Podcast - PoloCAST! We are taking a look at some of the most prominent people in Water Polo, where they came from, what have they experienced, and what they have learned along the way. Here is an introduction to the podcast with a little bit about our host - George Gross Jr.  Don't forget to subscribe, we are releasing 2 episodes a month, with some bonus episodes sprinkled in along the way.