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Men's Water Polo:
4 Former UC Irvine All-Americans on 2008 U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo Team
June 30, 2008
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --- Four former UC Irvine All-Americans are included on the 13-man roster for the United States Olympic Men's Water Polo Team that will compete in Beijing, China in August. The team was introduced Monday at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Ryan Bailey (Long Beach Millikan HS), a center, was selected to his third consecutive U.S. Olympic team. The four-time All-American at UCI was the 1998 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Year. Utility player Jeff Powers (San Luis Obispo HS) was named to the U.S. team for the second straight Olympics. He was an All-American for the Anteaters in 2000 and 2002. Defender Tim Hutten (Los Alamitos HS) will be competing on his first U.S. Olympic team. He received the prestigious Peter J. Cutino Award in June as the top collegiate player in the nation this past season. The 2007 MPSF Player of the Year was first team All-America and led the nation in scoring average at 3.75 goals per game. Defender Rick Merlo (Fresno/Buchanan HS) is also making his inaugural appearance with the American Olympic squad. He earned All-America honors at UCI in the 2003 and 2004 seasons. With this year's four selections, UCI has had nine representatives on the past two U.S. Olympic teams. The U.S. team, coached by Terry Schroeder, is scheduled to open Olympic action Aug. 10 against host China. Two other former UCI All-Americans, Genai Kerr and Dreason Barry, competed for the U.S. National Team earlier this year and were candidates for the Olympic team. 2008 United States Olympic Men's Water Polo Team
Alternates: John Mann (California) - Center Brian Alexander (UC Santa Barbara) - Defender Head Coach: Terry Schroeder |
