USA Water Polo Announces Domestic Schedule

HUNTINGTON BEACH, California, May 19. A full calendar is on the books for the USA Water Polo Men's and Women's National Teams in 2010, as both squads will host official FINA events in addition to Exhibition Series with visiting countries such as China and Montenegro.

The USA Women's National Team is the reigning World Champions, their third title in the last decade, while the Men's National Team enters 2010 ranked fourth in the world, leaving the United States arguably the top water polo nation bar none. The two squads will look to build on the momentum created in recent years with an ambitious stateside slate of games.

The men's competition gets started when Team USA welcomes Montenegro the United States in 2010 for three exhibition matches across Southern California. The two teams will get together at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA on June 26, Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach, CA on July 2 and the USA Water Polo National Training Center in Los Alamitos, CA on July 4. Montenegro, currently ranked ninth in the world, last met the United States in a major championship at the 2009 FINA World League Super Final with the Montenegrins securing a semi-final round victory.

"We are preparing for another busy summer with a few big games in Southern California this summer. We had a one game qualification match with Canada in early May that determined our qualification for the World Cup in July," said USA Men's Head Coach Terry Schroeder. He continued, "We also host Montenegro this summer for a three game series that will feature one game at California Lutheran University, one at Los Alamitos on the 4th of July with fireworks and all and one in Newport Beach. We hope that everyone can come out and support team USA this summer."

From the other side of the world comes the Chinese Women's National Team for a trio of exhibition matches in Northern California. The USA Women's National Team will take on China June 22 at the University of California-Davis, then again June 23 at Dougherty Valley Aquatic Center in San Ramon, CA and they will close out the series on June 24 at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. China fell out of the top ten rankings following the 2009 World Championships but have been competitive since hosting the 2008 Olympic Games. The two teams last met in Rome in 2009 at the World Championships with Team USA proving victorious in group play.

Just days after completing their Exhibition Series the U.S. and China will head south from the Bay Area to San Diego for the 2010 FINA World League Super Final June 28-July 3. For the first time since 2004 in Long Beach, CA, the Super Final returns to United States soil. Set for the Coggan Family Aquatics Complex in La Jolla, CA, China and Team USA will be joined by six other elite women's water polo squads. Qualifying for the event will take place throughout the spring to determine the full field for La Jolla. With some teams failing to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, the Super Final is expected to be the most competitive women's event of 2010.

"The World League Super Final is undoubtedly the marquee event of the summer as we will play host to the best 8 teams in the World. With so much parity between the teams, every game played promises to be very competitive," said USA Women's Head Coach Adam Krikorian. He continued, "It's also the first major event we have hosted since the World League Finals in 2004 so we would love to see as many people as possible coming to support us and our sport. These events will give our fans and supporters the rare chance to watch us live in action. I truly believe it's something that every aspiring women's player in the area should come and watch."

Tickets are available for all events at usawaterpolo.org by visiting the upcoming/current events window on the homepage. Don't miss out on several great opportunities to see the best in United States water polo compete.

2010 USA Water Polo National Teams Domestic Schedule (all times PST)

June 22 Women's National Team v. China – UC-Davis – Davis, CA 8:30pm
June 23 Women's National Team v. China – Dougherty Valley Aquatic Center – San Ramon, CA 8:00pm
June 24 Women's National Team v. China – Stanford University – Stanford, CA 7:00pm
June 26 Men's National Team v. Montenegro – California Lutheran University – Thousand Oaks, CA 5:00pm
June 28- July3 FINA Women's World League Super Final – Coggan Family Aquatics Center – La Jolla, CA (schedule to be announced)
July 2 Men's National Team v. Montenegro – Newport Harbor High School – Newport Beach, CA 5:00pm
July 4 Men's National Team v. Montenegro – USA Water Polo National Training Center – Los Alamitos, CA 6:00pm

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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