USA-Australia to meet again in women’s water poloJust 40 days after their last matchup, the record setting “Blastoff to Beijing” game at Stanford on July 10th, the USA and Australia Olympic Women’s Water Polo Teams will square off in the Olympic semifinals.

The two powerhouses of the sport will meet Tuesday, August 19, at 2:20pm Beijing time (11:20pm Monday night, PDT). In the “Blastoff to Beijing” contest, Stanford alum and USA captain Brenda Villa tallied three goals to lead Team USA to a 7-5 victory, in front of 2,967 spectators at Avery Aquatic Center, the largest ever for a women’s water polo match on US soil and the final game for each team before the Olympic Games.

In Beijing, the two teams took similar paths, both tying for first in their respective brackets while posting two wins and a tie. But while the Americans came out on top in their tie breaker and got a bye to the semi’s, the Aussies lost out to Hungary and had to play China in Sunday’s quarterfinal. The host country’s feisty squad put up a battle, but the Australians hung on to secure a 12-11 victory and stamp their ticket to the final four and a rematch of the “Blastoff to Beijing.”

This time there will be far more at stake.

We are offering 2 clinics at Stanford for all girls who are going into their 8th grade year, or younger.

Aug 20, Wed     4:30-7:00 PM
Aug 23, Sat        9:00-11:30 AM
           Cost per clinic : $50 (7th & 8th grader)    $35  (6th grade/younger)

With the Olympics starting and water polo on TV, we hope that more girls will be interested in trying it out,  and those that already play would be interested in a clinic.   Beginners through advanced players are welcome.  

Clinic Information

18 Red - Placed 8th in Elite Platinum Division 
18 White – Won the Gold Division
16 Red – Received the Bronze in the Gold Division
16 White - Placed 14th in the Gold Division 
14’s- Placed 14th in the Platinum Division

Stanford was the highest placing team in our zone in both the 18 & 14 age groups.  For the 16s team they placed ahead of 4 other teams from our zone.  Congratulations to everyone on a great summer.

Kyle will be updating us on his Olympic adventures throughout his stay.  To get started…  Kyle with the mascot.

Kyle was able to go to the Great Wall as well.  Below is his update from the Opening Ceremonies and a pic of the “Kyles”. Kyle Kopp is one of the assistant coaches. 

Kyle’s Opening Ceremony Recap

  

The Red team beat NYAC 6-5 for the bronze medal at Nationals.  In the semi finals they lost to Bruin 10-7, getting as close as 7-6 to end the 3rd quarter after being down 6-1.  The 3rd place game was tied 0-0 after the first quarter, 3-3 at half,  up 5-4 after 3, and scored first to go up 2, and held on for the win.

The White team advanced into the 9-12 console bracket, losing to San Diego Shores, then to Champ 10-9, therefore finishing 12th out of 16 teams. 

Congratulations to everyone on a great start to the Championship Season.

Red team gets 6th.  They lost to SET 6-5 in the quarters Wed night.  Then rebounded by beating American River in the console semi 10-2.  However lost to Commerce in the final game 10-8.

White team had a great week finishing 14th out of 20 teams.  After having a tough bracket they advanced 4th in their group of 5.  They beat NC San Diego in the 13-16 semis and played for 13th place.   They ended up finishing 14th after a loss to Newport. 

Our final place average between both A & B teams was the highest of the three clubs that qualified multiple teams in the championship. 

It’s been a week of incredible events and exciting activity for the club. Just to review a couple of the more significant ones:

Click below for tentative dates and times for Fall polo (JR Polo and Age Group).
Fall 08 General Info