Michael Randazzo - (Author)

In a typical year, it would be obvious who the top contenders are for the best female collegiate water polo player in America. The criterion is usually: Are they on a top four (or five) team in the CWPA rankings? Is their team a legitimate contender for an NCAA title?  Do they play for Stanford? I m...

Unbeaten UCLA Stays Atop Women's Water Polo Poll; LMU Makes Big Jump The past two weeks, a number of teams have faced conference opponents in matches with postseason implications. Nowhere more significant was the contest between Fresno State and Loyola Marymount on March 23. Picked #1 and #2 in the ...

For Now, Wagner Claims New York Water Polo Bragging Rights With Win Over LIU BROOKLYN, NY. In a rematch of last year’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference women’s water polo championship final, Wagner College, for a decade the MAAC’s top team, crossed the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge from Staten Island t...

An Interview With UCI Water Polo Coach Dan Klatt; Compassion a Hallmark of Veteran Leader IRVINE, CA. Water polo will never be mistaken for a kumbaya-kind of athletic experience. It’s physically and emotionally draining. But those who care most about the sport—especially coaches—have tremendous comp...

Unbeaten UCLA Remains Atop College Women's Water Polo Poll; Hawaii Holds at No. 2 The Collegiate Water Polo Association poll for women’s varsity play has not seen much change these past few weeks, especially at the top. UCLA, Hawai’i, Stanford, Cal and USC have been in roughly the same spots for a m...

Coach Adam Wright Guiding Weighs in on Guiding UCLA's Powerful Water Polo Programs HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA. Spending time with Adam Wright, UCLA men’s and women’s water polo head coach, is like being in the company of a powerful politician. Wright is surrounded by success; there’s Chase and Ryder Dodd,...

UCLA Stays Atop Women's Water Polo Poll After Claiming Kalbus Invitational Title Last weekend, nine of the nation’s top ten teams traveled to Irvine, CA—only Princeton declined a spot in the 2024 Barbara Kalbus Invitational—offering a prime opportunity to evaluate NCAA title contenders. Fresno State...

Dodd Brothers - Chase and Ryder - Hoping to be Part of Team USA Trip to Paris Olympics Chase and Ryder Dodd—brothers and fellow UCLA Bruin water polo players—are chasing the biggest roster spot in U.S. men’s water polo: Representing America at the 2024 Paris Olympics. They have played together for m...

NEWPORT BEACH, CA. In sports, as in life, it’s always best to walk away while you’re ahead. In the case of Maureen Cole, head coach for the Hawai’i women’s water polo team, she’s determined to finish her gig by leading the Rainbow Wahine to the greatest season in their history. And then leaving with...

South Africa Turns Down Olympic Water Polo Bids; Romania (Men) and Canada (Women) Claim Spots In a surprising development, Swimming South Africa (SSA) pulled its men’s and women’s water polo teams from the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. SSA chief executive Shaun Adriaanse told the Daily Maver...

Kalbus Invitational Highlights Spectacular Weekend of Water Polo Action The Barbara Kalbus Invitational—previously known as the UCI Invitational—is the most competitive tournament of the women’s NCAA regular season. It is an invitational, and nine of the nation’s current top-10 teams—and 13 of the t...

The results from the desert—Qatar, to be exact—at the 21st World Aquatics Championships were decidedly mixed for USA men’s and women’s water polo. The women, coached by Adam Krikorian, delivered in the clutch as they so often have during Krikorian’s impressive tenure. Last Friday the Americans captu...

There was not much change in this week’s Collegiate Water Polo Association’s Poll as the top 12 teams remained the same. The biggest leap was by Pacific, which moved from 17th to No. 13. The biggest drop? Four spots by UC Santa Barbara, which split four matches at the ASU Invitational and is now ran...

Before Embarking on Successful NFL Career, Ihmir Smith-Marsette Flashed Talent in Water Polo To make a roster in the National Football League, one of America’s most elite and lucrative sports fraternities, takes superior talent, intense dedication and years of effort. Pro football is generally consi...

With two weeks of play in the books, the CWPA’s Varsity Women’s Water Polo poll has (mostly) taken shape. USC holds the top spot for the second consecutive week while Stanford, preseason No. 1, moves up a notch from seventh—the Cardinal’s lowest-ever poll position—into a tie with UC Irvine for sixth...

NCAA Women's Water Polo Preview: Olympic Year May Have Impact on Season Ahead Azusa Pacific’s 16-6 win over Cal State Monterey Bay earlier this month marked the beginning of the 2024 NCAA women’s season. It’s one that will see a lot of the same from 2023. The past two years—and in four of the last f...

Gergo Zalanki is Hungary's Hammer as Pursuit of Olympic Water Polo Gold Begins A new year brings a new quest for Hungarian water polo player Gergo Zalanki, the Swimming World 2023 Male Water Polo Player of the Year. For Zalanki, a 28 year-old left-hander who also plays professionally for Pro Recco, ...

Water Polo Profile: Spain's Judith Forca Eager to Chase Olympic Glory If Judith Forca has her way, 2024 will be the best year ever for Spanish women’s water polo. Which would be quite the accomplishment. Forca, Swimming World’s 2023 Female Player of the Year and her teammates were tremendous last ye...

Intertwined History: U.S. and Puerto Rico Face Off in Pan Am Water Polo Competition The colors of their flags are the same, one of many overlaps between the United States and Puerto Rican water polo programs. With the opening this week of polo competition at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, ...

Opinion: Despite Obstacles, New York City On Cusp of Aquatics Renaissance Earlier this month, on September 10, the New York City summer swim schedule officially ended; outdoor pools are now shuttered until next May. The city’s 14 miles of public beaches will no longer be staffed with lifeguards. But...