Team Usa

Corona del Mar High alumna Tumua Anae and Newport Beach residents Kelly Rulon and Danielle Warde contributed as the USA Water Polo women's senior national team won bronze at the 2013 FINA World League Super Final last week in Beijing, China. Team USA defeated Hungary, 10-9, in the bronze-medal game. Rulon scored one goal in the contest. Anae made 10 saves for the U.S. in the semifinal match, a 9-7 loss to China. It was the Americans' second loss to China in the tournament. The third-place finish marked the first time since 2008 that the U.S. women did not win the title at the FINA World League Super Final.

Steve Virgen UC Irvine men's water polo will be well represented in the 2004 Olympics, as former Anteater standouts Ryan Bailey, Jeff Powers, Omar Amr, Dan Klatt and Genai Kerr are part of the 13-player U.S. team roster that was announced Wednesday at the Charter All-Digital Aquatic Centre in Long Beach. "I think it's really great," said Ted Newland, 76, UCI's legendary coach who is entering his 39th season. "This is the most guys I have ever had on the U.S. Olympic team all time.

Former UC Irvine standout Jeff Powers scored one goal to help the United States men's water polo team defeat Italy, 9-8, in the seventh-place game of the Olympic Games Sunday in Athens, Greece. Powers was joined on Team USA by former Anteaters Ryan Bailey, Omar Amr, Dan Klatt and Genai Kerr. Amr had two shots and an assist against Italy, while Bailey had one shot. Tony Azevedo, who finished second among all scorers in the tournament with eight goals in seven games, had three goals for the Americans Sunday.

Though tonight marks the beginning of a three-night homecoming engagement for former UC Irvine All-Americans Jayson Jablonsky and David Smith, the playing time granted the U.S. men’s volleyball national team newcomers will have more to do with pushing buttons than tugging heart strings. “There is no plan to make it a homecoming event for those guys,” Team USA Coach Alan Knipe said of the four-team qualifying tournament for the 2010 World Championships that features two matches each of the next three evenings at the Bren Events Center.

LOS ALAMITOS - The United States men's national water polo team swept a two-game series with Canada, defeating the Canadians, 10-8, Thursday at the Los Alamitos Reserve Training Center. Second-quarter goals by Ryan Bailey and Wolf Wingo broke a 4-4 tie, putting United States ahead for good. Tony Azevedo led the Americans with four goals, while Bailey added three. The Canadians cut USA's lead down to one on four different occasions, but the Americans held on for the win. Dan Hackett had four saves for the United States, while Canada's Robin Randall matched him with four saves.

There is no Olympic trinket, no tiny flag emblazoned with those trademark five rings, no poster with a motivational phrase in big letters to remind Kevin Hansen of his dream. For the former Corona del Mar High two-sport standout, now competing for one of 12 spots on the U.S. men’s national volleyball team, the alarm clock is enough to remind him that his four-year Olympic quest has been a daily grind. That journey began in 2005, after a stellar career at Stanford, where he was a two-time All-American.

Former UC Irvine All-American Jimmy Pelzel tied for the team high with eight kills to help the United States men's volleyball team roll to a 25-12, 25-14, 25-13 victory over Lebanon to open pool play at the World University Games Thursday in Izmir, Turkey. The U.S., which also includes Corona del Mar High product Kevin Hansen, who started the third game, dispatched Lebanon in 62 minutes. Team USA faces France in pool-play action today. Belgium, China and Slovakia are also in the pool.

COSTA MESA - P.J. Errington and a Team USA miscue allowed the Tasmanian Devils to pull out a 2-1 win in AYSO Region 120 Under-12 boys soccer action. Errington's goal gave the Devils a 1-0 lead before scoring again when the ball trickled into the net a few minutes later. Kyle Worel scored on an assist from Andrew West for Team USA in the third quarter. Defensively for Team USA, Jonathan Howse and Cody Waldron led the way. In other Region 120 Under-10 boys action: Alleygators 1, Blastoids in Blue 0 - Scott Styles scored the game's only goal for the Alleygators as the defense for both teams dominated the game.

The USA men’s senior national water polo team cut its roster from 24 to 18 Wednesday, and John Mann is still on the team. But surviving the cut is not what it’s all about for the former Corona del Mar High star. “It feels good,” Mann, a two-meter player, said of remaining on the team. “But that’s not my goal. It’s my goal to go to the Olympics and medal. I’m shooting to make this team. I’m not looking at it as, ‘Hey, I made it past this cut.’ It’s a rough process and to see some of my teammates taken off the team is tough, but for me it’s one step closer.

The USA Water Polo men's senior national team outlasted Hungary in a shootout, 15-14, in its opening game of the FINA World League Super Final on Tuesday in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Team USA features Corona del Mar High product John Mann and UC Irvine alumni Greg Enloe, Griffin Lerman, Tim Hutten and Brandon Johnson. Team USA plays Japan in its second game of the tournament on Wednesday. — From staff reports

Corona del Mar High alumna Tumua Anae and Newport Beach residents Kelly Rulon and Danielle Warde contributed as the USA Water Polo women's senior national team won bronze at the 2013 FINA World League Super Final last week in Beijing, China. Team USA defeated Hungary, 10-9, in the bronze-medal game. Rulon scored one goal in the contest. Anae made 10 saves for the U.S. in the semifinal match, a 9-7 loss to China. It was the Americans' second loss to China in the tournament. The third-place finish marked the first time since 2008 that the U.S. women did not win the title at the FINA World League Super Final.

UC Irvine sophomore Taylor Sparks, who shared Big West Conference Field Player of the Year honors in 2013 and was named third-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, has been named to the USA Baseball national collegiate team. "It is sensational that Taylor Sparks' great progress has been noted by the USA national collegiate team staff and that he has been invited to be a member of the team for the summer of '13," said UCI Coach Mike Gillespie, who managed the 2000 squad. "What a great honor and opportunity for Taylor, and well-deserved.

Former UC Irvine men's soccer star Brad Evans played defender for the U.S. national team in its 4-3 victory over Germany in an exhibition match in Washington, D.C. Evans, who plays midfield for the Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer, earned praise from Team USA Coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who told reporters that Evans showed "exactly what we wanted to see. " It was the 10th career Cap for Evans, his first since January. He previously started four times, including one Gold Cup match appearance in 2009.

Chloe Rice has never thought of herself as having a disability. Rice lives an active life. She's a freshman soccer player at Corona del Mar High, where she is a good student. She also enjoys scuba diving and snowboarding. She had competed in gymnastics. Physically, nothing is wrong, either. The blonde-haired 15-year-old stands just 5-foot-2, but she holds her own on the pitch. And she doesn't talk differently, unlike many other people who are presented with the same challenge that Rice does face on an everyday basis.

Corona del Mar High product John Mann and three former UC Irvine standouts have been named to the USA roster for the FINA World League Super Final in men's water polo, June 11-16 in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Mann joins Anteater alums Tim Hutten, Brandon Johnson and Greg Enloe on the 15-man roster, announced Monday by Coach Dejan Udovicic. Hutten, a two-time Olympian, was the 2008 recipient of the prestigious Peter J. Cutino Award given annually to the top player in the NCAA. He was a two-time All-American while competing for UCI. Mann scored three goals for Team USA in the 2012 London Olympic Games.

LOS ALAMITOS - Danielle Warde did not follow the same path as many of her teammates on the U.S. senior women's national team. Growing up, Warde was known as a powerful and dynamic center at Edison High before graduating in 2010. But she was not a mainstay on the cadet, youth or junior national team rosters. In fact, it was the opposite. She said she never made any of those squads. "I actually tried out for the youth team, the zone team, and I just never made it," Warde said.

LOS ALAMITOS - Goalie Tumua Anae, a former Corona del Mar High standout, recorded six saves to help the U.S. women's water polo team defeat Canada, 11-7, in the Americans' first match since winning gold at the 2012 Olympics, during the first day of the FINA World League Prelims. Melissa Seidemann scored three goals to lead a balanced offensive attack, while Anae went the distance in net. Team USA is back in action Saturday against Brazil at 3 p.m. in a match that will be webcast live.

Two-time Olympian Chris Oeding, a Newport Beach resident and former Corona del Mar High standout, has been named assistant coach for the USA Water Polo Women's Senior National Team, Head Coach Adam Krikorian has announced. The longtime Head Coach at Long Beach City College and captain of the 2000 Olympic Team, Oeding joins the staff of the defending Olympic gold medalists and finalizes the coaching staffs for a host of USA Water Polo National Teams. Fellow Women's Senior National Team Assistant Coach Dan Klatt, the UC Irvine coach, will add to his responsibilities by taking on the role of head coach with the Women's Junior National Team.

It's been eight months since the U.S. women's water polo team won its first gold medal. The celebration, praise and admiration hasn't died down, definitely not in Newport Beach. Kelly Rulon, a U.S. team member, feels the love practically everywhere she goes, especially when she has her gold medal with her. Such was the case Friday morning when she visited Newport Heights Elementary, where she helped promote Newport Beach Water Polo and the Newport Beach Swimming Club programs.