The USA Men rolled today at the 2006 ASUA Cup in Rio de Janeiro, winning 15-3 against Colombia. Brian Alexander and Thomas Hopkins each had four goals, while Layne Beaubien chipped in another three for the U.S. in the win. Tim Hutten had two goals, while Spencer Dornin and Ryan Bailey each added a goal a piece.

Colombia started off strong, but was up against a tough and determined USA team. The first period was a struggle for both teams, with the U.S. ahead, 3-1. The second period was a different story. USA turn its offensive switch on full force scoring six goals in that quarter and had a commanding half time lead, 9-3.

Much like the first half, the U.S. continued to keep the defensive pressure on Colombia, not allowing them to score a single goal in the second half. Dreason Barry, Spencer Dornin and Hopkins each had three steals in that same half.

With the win today, Team USA holds the top seed for the tournament, and will wait to play the fourth place team Saturday, November 5. Team USA will return to action Thursday, November 2 against Puerto Rico to finish off group play.

Head Coach Ricardo Azevedo, “It was important for us to come out today and show Colombia respect and play hard. We were able to concentrate on working on our front court and 6 on 5’s.”

Once again Dan Albano from the Orange County Register is scooping on water polo recruiting news. Foothill High and SoCal star Jessica Kutcher commits to USC.

USA Men’s water polo beat Brazil in its second game of the 2006 ASUA Cup. Ryan Bailey and Tony Azevedo combined for six of the teams 11 goals during their win over Brazil 11-4.The U.S. had a balanced offensive attack to go along with a strong defensive showing, shutting out Brazil in the first and third quarters Monday afternoon.

U.S. started the game off fast, leading 3-0 and took the early momentum.As the game started to get physical, the scoring slowed down.Brazil was able to score off of a tip pass towards the end of the first half, but that was about it.The third quarter was much like that of the first, with U.S. scoring three unanswered goals to lead, 8-2.Although the game was physical once again in the fourth quarter, USA stayed focused and walked away with the win.

With the win, Team USA is one game closer to qualifying for the ASUA Cup Championship Game and the World Championships.The U.S. will play Columbia October 31 at 2 p.m. EST.

HEAD COACH RICARDO AZEVEDO, “It was a very physical game and I am pleased that our guys held their composer and finished the game and did not get into the personal battles.”

Ben Hohl scored 3 goals in the final to lead Menlo High School to a 6-4 victory over Newport Harbor a THE BELLARMINE/LYNBROOK TRUWEST 2006 MEMORIAL CUP INVITATIONAL.

Hohl put up another 5 in their 7-3 semi-final win over CDM. Newport beat Harvard 7-5 to get in the other semi.

Top 8:

1. Menlo
2. Newport
3. Harvard
4. Corona Del Mar
5. Miramonte
6. Bellarmine
7. Los Alamitos
8. Coronado

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, October 28. THE USA Men’s Senior National Water Polo Team started off strong in the 2006 ASUA Cup opener, by defeating Canada 10-6. Tony Azevedo and Ryan Bailey combined for six of the team’s 10 goals. The score was tied 3-3, at the end of the first quarter of play. The second and third quarters proved to be the deciding factor in the game, with the U.S. outscoring Canada in those quarters 6-2. Team USA will have the day off Sunday, October 29 and will return to action on Monday, October 30.

“We are very happy with the result of the game considering we arrived at 2 p.m. yesterday and played at 9 am this morning,” Head Coach Ricardo Azevedo said. “It’s a good first win and we need to keep up the positive direction that we are going.”

Usawaterpolo.com has done alot of publicity on this event as we would expect. This is a showcase of the best talent in women’s water polo in the United States competing against each other.

One note: While the teams at Top 40 are usually a mix of Youth, Junior and Senior team players, this year, Team Lotus is 100% Junior Team members. This will help the Juniors prepare for the Junior World Championships in Portugal in the summer. Since rosters for Top 40 are less than the standard 13, not all the JNT players could fit on one team, so a handful of players are spread throughout Team Sabotage, Team Kosmic Khaos and Team Dragon. All of these players are still in the athlete pool for selection for the 2007 Junior Worlds.

Rosters

The event has an open tournament attached to it with some of the best clubs in the country competing.

Schedule

USA Water Polo has announced the brackets for the 2006 Speedo Cup. The tournament is still in Missouri but after many years in St Peters, the new venue is in Columbia.

This is the 14th Speedo Cup and the 10th year of the girls division (the first four Speedo Cups were co-ed).

Boys Tournament Bracket
Girls Tournament Bracket

We’ll wait for Dan to put up the story on Noel Umphrey and UCLA, but this was in his blog:

Umphrey to UCLA from Dan Albano

This is probably THE most incredible story in the history of water polo. It is one of the few stories in our sport that is compelling to a broader audience. People have been talking about it for years. The story is based on the infamous Blood in the Water, a match between Hungary and the USSR at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and is arguably the most famous match in water polo history. The match, which happened on December 6, was played out against the background of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and saw Hungary defeat the USSR 4–0. The name was coined by the media after Hungarian player Ervin Zador emerged from the pool late in game with blood pouring from a cut under his right eye. Read more on the Blood in the Water match.

Produced to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, the first time that the people of an Eastern Bloc country took up arms against the Soviet Regime, Children of Glory, is a tribute to the men and women who fought in the battle. Read More
Also:

YouTube Trailer

Another article

Ex-SI Article

This is an old(er) article, but still worth noting.

“If you’re a traveling sports fan who hates to miss your home team’s games, technology has just thrown you a lifeline. The Slingbox, from Sling Media Inc., a tech firm in San Mateo, Calif., plugs you into your own living room, enabling you to use your laptop to watch every television channel that you get on your home TV… Blake and Jason Krikorian, who along with Bhupen Shah cofounded Sling Media, say they were inspired to invent the Slingbox in 2002 when they were traveling often for work… On a trip to Singapore in May, Blake was able to watch the UCLA women’s water polo team - coached by his brother Adam - win an NCAA title because the game was broadcast on CSTV, part of his cable package back in California.”

Full Article

Another big California-wide boys tournament: THE BELLARMINE/LYNBROOK TRUWEST 2006 MEMORIAL CUP INVITATIONAL. This tournament honors the memory of two water polo legends: official John Felix and Cal-Berkeley head coach Steve Heaston.

From the North: Bellarmine, St Francis, Jesuit, Miramonte, Clovis West, Sacred Heart Prep, Menlo, and Buchanan

From the South: Mission Viejo, Newport, CDM, Foothill, Coronado, Los Alamitos, Wilson, Harvard

Schedule