ON THE FRINGE by Stephen Hobbs
Previewing the USA Men’s Water Polo Team Olympic Schedule
With only 12 total teams and two groups in men’s water polo at the London Olympic games, the Americans know they will be tested early on. The silver medalists from Beijing face a tough opponent in their first match, as Montenegro will be a great litmus test for the U.S. The American squad will then take on Romania and Great Britain, and they will complete their group play schedule with Serbia and Hungary.
To make it to the quarterfinals, the American side must finish fourth or better in Group B. Barring upset loses to either Great Britain or Romania, advancing should not be a problem for the U.S. squad. However, positioning will be very important for the quarterfinals. If they finish fourth in their group they will have to face the winner of Group A, which will severely limit their chances moving forward.
First Match: vs. Montenegro on Sunday, July 29.
TV: NBC 2:30 p.m. Eastern, 2:30 p.m. Pacific.
Group Play Schedule:
Sunday, July 29 vs. Montenegro
Tuesday, July 31 vs. Romania
Thursday, August 2 vs. Great Britain
Saturday, August 4 vs. Serbia
Monday, August 6 vs. Hungary
2012 U.S. Olympic Men’s Water Polo Team (Hometown/College/Club)
Tony Azevedo *#^ ? – Attacker (Long Beach, CA/Stanford ’03/NYAC)
Ryan Bailey *#^ – Center (Long Beach, CA/UC-Irvine ’98/Newport WPF)
Layne Beaubien#^ – Defender (Coronado, CA/Stanford ’99/NYAC)
Shea Buckner – Attacker (Villa Park, CA/USC ’10/NYAC)
Peter Hudnut ^ – Defender (Encino, CA/Stanford ’03/NYAC)
Tim Hutten^ – Defender (Seal Beach, CA/UC-Irvine ’08/Newport WPF)
JW Krumpholz^ – Center (Santa Ana, CA/USC ‘10/NYAC)
Chay Lapin – Goalkeeper (Long Beach, CA/UCLA ’09/Shore Aquatics)
John Mann – Center (Newport Beach, CA/California ’07/NYAC)
Merrill Moses^ – Goalkeeper (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine ’00/NYAC)
Jeff Powers #^ – Defender (San Luis Obispo, CA UC-Irvine ’03/Newport WPF)
Jesse Smith #^ – Utility (Coronado, CA/Pepperdine ’05/NYAC)
Peter Varellas^ – Attacker (Moraga, CA/Stanford ’06/Olympic Club)
Adam Wright #^ – Attacker (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA ’01/NYAC)
#2000 Olympian
%2004 Olympian
*2008 Olympian
Group A
Greece
Italy
Kazakhstan
Spain
Australia
Croatia
Group B
Hungary
Montenegro
Romania
Great Britain
USA
Serbia
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