Newport Takes US Men’s Water Polo Crown, Beats NYAC 8-5

CORONA DEL MAR, Calif., Aug. 4. FANS turned out en masse at Corona del Mar High School to take in the championship round of one of USA Water Polo's most prestigious championships. In the end, it was the local team making good, with Newport Water Polo Foundation taking home the Men's Senior National crown with an 8-5 win over New York Athletic Club. Nearly 500 spectators took in the game that saw Newport unseat the reigning ntional campions in convincing fashion.

Newport forged a solid lead early, going up 4-1 in the first quarter thanks,in part,to three goals by Jeff Powers. Dan Satchkov scored with 5:16 to play in the second quarter to make the score 4-2, but Powers answered right back with his fourth goal of the game. He finished with five.

NYAC began to subdue the Newport attack in the second half, matching them goal for goal in the third and fourth quarters. But Newport's early lead was enough to stave off the NYAC rally. Genai Kerr knocked down 10 shots in goal for Newport in the win, while Dan Hackett hauled in 12 saves for NYAC.

Following the game, Jeff Powers and Ryan Bailey were honored with the Chuck Metz award, which recognizes the tournament's most outstanding player.

Third Place Game: Stanford Water Polo 10, Malibu Waves 7
Tony Azevedo's five goals led a balanced Stanford attack in a 10-7 win over Malibu in the third place game. The score was tied, 3-3, at the half, but Stanford drew first blood in the second half on an extra-man goal by Jeff Nesmith. Stanford never
relinquished the lead after that.

Two of Azevedo's goals were scored in the third, where Stanford outscored Malibu, 3-1. Mike Derse had two goals for Stanford.

Fifth Place Game: Bruin Water Polo 7, Golden Bear "A" 4
Bruin Water Polo, with the help of three goals from Matt Flesher, declared a fifth place victory over Golden Bear "A". After a 3-0 run in the third quarter, with goals from Brett Ormsby and Michael March, Bruin went safely into the fourth. Brandon Brooks collected four saves for Bruin.

Seventh Place Game: New York Athletic Club "B" 6, Sunset San Diego 2
New York Athletic Club "B", behind two goals by Hrvoje Cizmic and nine saves by Merrill Moses, dunked Sunset 6-2 to finish in seventh place. NYAC broke away from an early 1-1 tie to go up by as many as five goals before closing out with the 6-2 win. Jon Hopkins and Kevin Smoker scored a goal apiece for Sunset in the loss.

All-Americans – 1st Team
Player Position Team
Merrill Moses, Goalkeeper, New York Athletic Club "B"
Tony Azevedo, Field, Stanford Water Polo
Jesse Smith, Field, Malibu Water Polo
Wolf Wigo, Field, New York Athletic Club "A"
Jeff Powers, Field, Newport Water Polo Foundation "A"
Ryan Bailey, Field, Newport Water Polo Foundation "A"
Attila Banhidy, Field, Golden Bear "A"

All-Americans – 2nd Team
Player Position Team
Genai Kerr Goalkeeper Newport Water Polo Foundation "A"
Peter Hudnut, Field, Stanford Water Polo
Brett Ormsby, Field, Bruin Water Polo
Adam Wright, Field, New York Athletic Club "A"
Dan Klatt, Field, Newport Water Polo Foundation "A"
Larry Felix, Field, New York Athletic Club "A"

All-Americans – Honorable Mention
Player Position Team
Nick Hill, Goalkeeper, Navy AC
Kevin Witt, Field, Lion Water Polo
Brian Alexander, Field, Santa Barbara Water Polo
Barry Dreason, Field, Newport Water Polo Foundation "B"
Garrett Gentry, Field Newport Water Polo Foundation "B"
Kirk Everist, Field, Olympic Club
Joe Donahue, Field, Navy AC
Rick Merlo, Field, Newport Water Polo Foundation "B"
Steven Jendrusina, Field, Sunset San Diego
Chris French, Field, Santa Barbara Water Polo
Adam Schilling, Goalkeeper, De Anza Water Polo
Kristofer Barr, Field, Lion Water Polo
Paul Helfer, Field, Santa Barbara Water Polo

Game 41: Bruin Water Polo 9, New York Athletic Club "B"
Bruin used a five-goal first quarter to get past New York Athletic Club "B", 9-7. The win pushed Bruin into the fifth place game, while NYAC B will contend for the seventh spot. Albert Garcia and Brett Ormsby each scored three goals for Bruin in the win. Hrvoje Cizmic brought NYAC B back to within one goal at 8-7 with 54 seconds remaining in the game, but Ormsby's penalty
shot with 10 seconds left on the clock secured the win for the Bruins.

Game 42: Golden Bear "A" 9, Sunset San Diego 5
Golden Bear outscored Sunset 3-0 in the third quarter on its way to a 9-5 win. Spencer Dornin scored two of his three goals in that quarter. Sunset goalkeeper Lance Onken made seven saves in goal, while Matt Ellis and Bryon Spicer each had two goals in the loss. The win put Golden Bear in the fifth place game against Bruin. Sunset will take on Bruin in the seventh place
game.

Game 43: New York Athletic Club "A" 6, Malibu Waves 4
USA National Team captain Wolf Wigo scored three goals for NYAC in a 6-4 win over Malibu. Sean Kern chipped in two goals of his own for NYAC, including the go-ahead goal with 6:30 to play in the second period. NYAC goes on to defend its crown in the championship, while Malibu will fight for third.

Game 44: Newport Water Polo "A" 11, Stanford Water Polo 10 (OT)
Newport came out on the top end of a high-scoring affair against Stanford, 11-10, to advance to the championship game against NYAC. Stanford led 9-8 in the fourth quarter, but a goal by Dan Klatt with 1:31 to play tied it at 9-9, forcing the tournament's first overtime. Newport struck first in overtime, going ahead 10-9 on a Jeff Powers goal with 1:28 to go in the
first overtime frame. Powers added another goal in the second overtime period to put Newport up by two, but Peter Hudnut scored for Stanford to make it 11-10. Jeff Nesmith's shot from half tank was field blocked by Powers as time expired, giving Newport the win. Powers had five goals in the victory for Newport, while Tony Azevedo notched four for Stanford.

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