{"id":377879,"date":"2019-07-02T04:00:27","date_gmt":"2019-07-02T11:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=377879"},"modified":"2019-07-01T14:23:32","modified_gmt":"2019-07-01T21:23:32","slug":"swimming-world-presents-crunch-time-for-u-s-water-polo-pan-am-games-just-around-the-corner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/swimming-world-presents-crunch-time-for-u-s-water-polo-pan-am-games-just-around-the-corner\/","title":{"rendered":"Swimming World Presents “Crunch Time For U.S. Water Polo! Pan Am Games Just Around the Corner”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Crunch Time!<\/span><\/h2>\n

By Michael Randazzo<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2016, Dejan Udovicic<\/strong>, head coach of the U.S. men\u2019s water polo team, made a bold proclamation: by 2020, he promised, his team would be Olympic gold medalists. \u201cI am guaranteeing it,\u201d he quipped to ESPN.<\/p>\n

Now, as the U.S. men prepare for a busy summer of play, capped off by the all-too-important Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, Aug. 4-10, it\u2019s not certain the Americans will even qualify for the Tokyo Games!<\/p>\n

Of the 13 players Udovicic selected for the last Pan Ams in 2015, when the U.S. qualified for its ninth straight Olympics, only four\u2014Alex Bowen<\/strong>, Luca Cupido<\/strong>, Ben Hallock<\/strong> and Alex Obert<\/strong>\u2014are certain to make the trip to Lima. Five-time Olympian Tony Azevedo\u2019s<\/strong> retirement after the Rio Games was expected, while then-39-year-old Merrill Moses<\/strong> called it a career after three Olympics. John Mann<\/strong>, the Yanks\u2019 massive center, quit after 2016, his second Games.<\/p>\n

And so this summer, Team USA\u2019s roster, in addition to Bowen, Cupido, Obert and Jesse Smith, a four-time Olympian likely to return for a fifth Games, will consist of extremely young, supremely talented athletes, but untested at the international level. Headliners include Hannes Daube<\/strong>, only 19, a superb attacker; Marko Vavic<\/strong>, his USC teammate, barely a year older than Daube; and Alex Wolf<\/strong>, a freakishly athletic goalie.<\/p>\n

The American women, by contrast, have already qualified for the Tokyo Games by virtue of gold at last month\u2019s FINA Women\u2019s World League Super Final. It\u2019s the 11th straight major tournament title for head coach Adam Krikorian<\/strong>, dating back to 2014\u2014an incredible streak of dominance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To read more about the U.S. Water Polo team’s lineup for Pan Ams this year,
\ncheck out the full July 2019 issue of Swimming World Magazine<\/em>, available now!<\/p>\n

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