Feb. 1, 2010

USA Water Polo Release 

Huntington Beach, Calif. -- Former UC Irvine men's water polo coach Ted Newland was recognized at the annual USA Water Polo award dinner during the Annual ODP Summit this past Saturday in Huntington Beach. The awards were named in honor of a person or persons who have made an extraordinary contribution to the sport.

The Ted Newland Distinguished Men's Coaching Award (Developmental) was awarded to Takeshi Inoue of United Water Polo (Los Alamitos).

"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," stated a USA Water Polo release.

Newland was UCI's head coach for 39 years, compiling 714 victories and winning NCAA championships in 1970, 1982 and 1989. Fifteen of his UCI players competed on U.S. Olympic teams.

"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. Be sure to visit www.USAWaterPolo.org for complete listings of the honorees for 2010.