From USA Water Polo
\nTeam UPS Downs Northern Neighbors, 7-5<\/p>\n
Los Alamitos, CA-If there were any doubts about Team UPS's entitlement to the sixth and final entry into this year's UPS Cup, they were all but laid to
\nrest this weekend. Head coach Dante Dettamanti guided his squad to its second victory in three days over the visiting Canadians, this time by a score of 7-5 at the National Aquatic Center in Los Alamitos.<\/p>\n
Team UPS, as it has been dubbed for the tournament, is comprised of mostly college students and is regarded as the primary U.S. Water Polo
\nrecruiting class for the 2004 Olympics. Now, as it turns out, this young team will get their chance to step up its game against some of the best in the
\nworld in this week's UPS Cup.<\/p>\n
"This is going to be great, not only for this team, but for the future U.S. Water Polo in general," said Dettamanti, who will skipper his team through the six-day, six-team tournament in Los Alamitos. "The opportunity to get your young athletes to play against this level of international competition, before they're even on the national team, is invaluable."<\/p>\n
Dettamanti and company got to flex their muscles against Canada for the third time in as many days, toppling their visitors this time, 7-5.<\/p>\n
USA dominated the first half, scoring five unanswered goals, three of them coming in the second quarter. Extra-man goals by Jeff Powers and Drew
\nNetherton highlighted the second period, while goalkeeper Chris Aguilera fought off six would-be Canadian shooters to help hold the lead.<\/p>\n
Canada got on the board in the final minute before the close of the half and trailed, 5-1, to start the third. Canada started the second half in convincing fashion, scoring two unanswered goals to cut the lead to 5-3. That served as enough of a wake up call for the U.S. squad, which then rattled off a pair of goals to close the third period at 7-3.<\/p>\n
Canada stepped up defensively in the final quarter, but was unable to fully recover from their deficit and lost, 7-5.<\/p>\n
"It was a hard-fought contest on both sides," said assistant coach Rick Azevedo. "We let them back into the ballgame a bit in the second half, but pulled it back together towards game's end."<\/p>\n
Team UPS will get another taste of world-class competition on Tuesday, playing in the tournament opener against world-power Croatia, a silver medallist in 1996. And Dettamanti is planning to have a good showing.<\/p>\n
"Well, the intensity is going to have to take a step up, there's no doubt about that," he said. "I'm hoping for us to come out and really surprise some
\npeople."<\/p>\n
The UPS Cup, which features five of the 12 teams that will be competing in Sydney in September, begins on Tuesday (Jun. 27) at 6:00 p.m. with Team UPS vs. Croatia, and concludes on Sunday (July 2) in the championship game at 3:00 p.m. <\/p>\n
For more information on the UPS Cup, please check our website at www.ups-cup.com.<\/p>\n
UPS Cup Tourney Notebook:
\n–Twelve teams will take to the water in Sydney come September, but only three will go home with medals, and only one with gold. Who will it be? Yugoslavian team officials feel that their team this year could easily be considered a front-runner. <\/p>\n
"This is the best team that has ever played for Yugoslavia," said Goran Ciercovic, the General Secretary of the Yugoslavian Federation."<\/p>\n
If Ciercovic's words ring true this summer, it will be the the third gold medal in five Olympic Games for Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia took home the prize in
\nboth 1984 and 1988 and were one of the favorites in 1992, before UN sanctions prevented them from participating.<\/p>\n
–If Yugoslavia's potential isn't enough\u2026how about this one? The Italians have improved leaps and bounds over the last decade, due in large part to the
\narrival of Ratko Rudic in 1991. Rudic, who comes to Italy from Croatia, will be going for his fourth consecutive medal this summer. After garnering the
\ngold with Yugoslavia in 1984 and 1988, Rudic coached Italy to a gold and a
\nbronze in 1992 and 1996, respectively.<\/p>\n
But rather than predict his shot at a repeat of gold performances past, he humbly stated that his team will be "very competitive." <\/p>\n
–Team USA will be back at full strength by first sprint against Australia on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. A couple of packages recently arrived from overseas\u2026<\/p>\n
Two-meter man Chris Humbert, widely regarded at the best man in the world at his position, returns from Greece to bolster the USA offense. Also back in
\nthe fray are two-meter defenders Gavin Arroyo and Kyle Kopp. Head coach John Vargas sees their return as a big boost for the Stars and Stripes.<\/p>\n
"We've been playing well already," he said. "But now that we have those guys back, we will be just that much stronger and deeper." <\/p>\n
–Team USA's contest with Croatia on Wednesday (June 28), originally scheduled for 8:30 p.m., has been moved to 6:00 p.m. NBC\/Paxon will be taping the game and run it on tape delay on August 12.<\/p>\n
–Think these guys are just all jocks? Think again. Team UPS's Omar Amr is breaking the stereotypes in a big way. The 25-year-old driver was recently
\naccepted to Harvard Medical School.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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