USA Water Polo Announces 2009 National Awards

HUNTINGTON BEACH, California, January 31. USA Water Polo's Annual Awards returned in 2010 with recipients honored for their work in 2009 at a dinner during the Annual ODP Summit on Saturday, January 30, 2010. The awards were named in honor of a person or persons who have made an extraordinary contribution to the sport, and this year the recipients included a wide range of coaches and contributors from all across the United States.

USA Water Polo Awards for 2009:
Monte Nitzkowski Distinguished Men's Coaching Award (Elite): Jovan Vavic, USC and Trojan Water Polo

Sandy Nitta Distinguished Women's Coaching Award (Elite): Adam Krikorian, UCLA and USA Women's National Team

Bill Barnett Distinguished Men's Coaching Award (Scholastic): Rudy Ruth, Northeast Zone and Wilson High School

Doc Hunkler Distinguished Women's Coaching Award (Scholastic): Gabriel Martinez, Commerce Aquatics

Ted Newland Distinguished Men's Coaching Award (Developmental): Takeshi Inoue, United Water Polo (Los Alamitos)

Brent Bohlender Distinguished Women's Coaching Award (Developmental): Cathy Neushul, Santa Barbara Water Polo Foundation

Bret Bernard Distinguished Referee Award (Elite): Steven Rotsart

Tom Hermstad Distinguished Referee Award (Scholastic): Levon Dermindijan & Madisen Drury

Aaron Chaney Distinguished Referee Award (Developmental): Marvel Shoen

Barbara Kalbus Distinguished Volunteer Award: Marold Kamai

Bryan Weaver Master of the Year Award: Jeff Roy

Burke/Ratkovic Zone Service Award: Mark Cousineau, Southern Pacific Zone

The USA Water Polo Lifetime Service Award: Jimmy Linehan & Rick Marsh

USA Water Polo Chairman's Cup: SoCal Water Polo

Background On Award Namesakes:

Monte Nitzkowski is synonymous with men's water polo in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s serving as Head Coach of Men's Olympic Team in 1972, 1980, and 1984, leading Team USA to a bronze medal in 1972 and a silver medal in 1984. Nitzkowski also served as an Assistant Coach with the 1968 and 2000 Men's Olympic Team. Sandy Nitta is a pioneer for women's water polo, an Olympic swimmer as a teenager; Nitta segued to water polo and held the post as Head Coach of the Women's National Team during large parts of the 80s and 90s, leading Team USA to bronze medals at the 1986 and 1991 World Championships. She was also instrumental in the creation of Commerce Aquatics, a groundbreaking program.

Bill Barnett, an outstanding high school coach at Newport Harbor High School, with 10 CIF boys championships and four girls championships, initiated and coached the first USA Men's Junior National Team, then picked up where Nitzkowski left off in the 1980s, guiding the Men's program to a silver medal at the 1988 Olympic Games and a gold medal at the 1991 World Cup. Meanwhile "Doc" Hunkler, three-times named National Collegiate Coach of the Year, was a visionary for women's water polo who fought to have a true national women's collegiate championship and helped guide the programs at Slippery Rock University to unprecedented heights spanning three decades, including ten top-three finishes and a national women's collegiate championship in 1995. Hunkler also holds the distinction as the only coach to win both a Men's and Women's Olympic Festival Gold Medal

Few have groomed more men for Olympic competition than Ted Newland. Entering the coaching scene in the late 1960s Newland turned the University of California-Irvine into a tenacious competitor, earning three NCAA titles as he coached well into the new millennium. Called by some the "godfather" of high school water polo in Northern California, Brent Bohlender's Women's Junior National Teams captured two bronze medals from 1984 to 1999; Bohlender recently amassed his 700th career victory on the scholastic circuit keeping Johansen High School as a perennial contender. Lastly on the club circuit, Bohlender's Modesto-Stanislaus club won 18 National Championships over 34 years.

Bernard, Hermstad, and Chaney all took US officiating to unparalleled heights during their time in the whites. As a past president of USA Water Polo, Bernard also whistled the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games and was the preeminent collegiate official for many years. Hermstad also has an Olympic Games to his credit in 1988 and has worked tirelessly on behalf of water polo officials, helping to form the USA Water Polo National Referee Committee. Last but not least, Chaney capped an outstanding officiating career serving as the United States referee at the most recent Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 as well as 2004 in Athens and now currently serves as Assistant Coach for the USA Women's National Team.

Current Masters Committee Chair Bryan Weaver continues to work tirelessly for more playing opportunities while also piloting the boy's team at Brentwood High School. Long-time manager of the Men's National Team and holder of various offices since the incorporation of USA Water Polo, Barbara Kalbus continues to give back to the sport today, providing critical history for the USA Water Polo program and overseeing the official scoring table at NCAA Championships and various other competitions.

Andy Burke and George Ratkovic fittingly serve as the namesake for the Zone Service Award; few have represented regional water polo with more dedication and compassion. Ratkovic, stalwart of Southern California and longtime Southern Pacific Zone Chair oversaw unprecedented growth in his zone; Burke, a beacon of Northern California's famed Olympic Club, has remained active in USA Water Polo Premier League and the new National Tryout Series; he also served as the Team Manager at the 1964 Olympic Games.

"Our sport has been blessed with an exceptional group of athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers who have guided it and achieved exceptional performance over many decades," said USAWP CEO Christopher Ramsey. "It is really an honor to be able to recognize some of them through these awards and, just as important, use their accomplishments to inspire our next generation of high performers."

Winners were chosen through a zone nomination process and then reviewed by a national selection panel.

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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