Irvine, CA – March 16, 2021 – USA
Water Polo is proud to announce the 37th induction class for the USA Water Polo
Hall of Fame. All those from this year's five-member class are Olympic athletes
who've combined to win nine medals competing in a total 15 Olympic Games.
Tony Azevedo, a record five-time
Olympian and 2008 Olympic silver medalist, is joined in the class by his
Beijing medal winning teammate and three-time Olympian Merrill Moses. A member
of the first-ever women's Olympic water polo team, Ericka Lorenz—also a
two-time medalist at the Games—will be inducted alongside two members of the
next generation. Three-time Olympic medalist and two-time Gold medalist Kami
Craig enters the hall with her golden teammate from London 2012 and Rio 2016,
four-time NCAA champ Courtney Mathewson.
More information on the Hall of Fame
Induction Luncheon will be shared when available. To learn more about the Hall
of Fame, including a look at all the past inductees, click here.
Congratulations to all the inductees!
More on the 2021 USA Water Polo Hall
of Fame Induction Class:
Tony Azevedo
Considered perhaps the greatest men's
water polo player the United States has ever seen, Tony Azevedo's career almost
never happened. Born in Brazil, Azevedo overcame a life-threatening neck injury
as a child to emerge from water polo-rich Long Beach, CA, under the guidance of
aquatic legends like Klaus Barth. Taught the finer points of the game by his
dad, Ricardo—a longtime player and coach at the National Team level—Tony served
as a ball boy at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, a moment that foreshadowed
what was to come. On the heels of a dominant prep career at the storied
powerhouse Long Beach Wilson, Azevedo made his Olympic debut as a player in the
2000 Sydney Games, just months removed from his senior prom. The 18-year-old
Azevedo then embarked on a transformational run with Stanford University that
saw him win two NCAA championships and set an almost certainly unbreakable
record of four-straight Cutino Award honors as the college game's best player.
He returned to the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 while launching an
international club career that spanned more than a decade capping up for top
clubs across Europe and Brazil including JUG, CAN Bissolati, and JK Primorac
among others. Domestically, Azevedo hauled in countless titles for the New York
Athletic Club. In 2008, he captained a U.S. team that returned to the Olympic
podium for the first time in 20 years, claiming a Silver medal at the Beijing
Games. He continued to serve as captain at the next two Olympic Games,
culminating his career in a full-circle moment back in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
A five-time Pan American Games Gold medalist, Azevedo added FINA World League
Silver medals and ended his career as the all-time leading scorer in FINA World
Championship history. He remains entrenched in the game as co-founder of 6-8
Sports—which merges water polo and technology—conducting camps and clinics
around the country.
Merrill Moses
By Olympic water polo standards,
Merrill Moses got a late start in his favorite sport. As a teenager Moses made
the switch from the football field to the pool and never looked back. He
brought the bravado and confidence of a star quarterback as a goalkeeper to
Team USA in a career that spanned over 15 years. An All-CIF selection at
Peninsula High School in California, Moses headed to Pepperdine University for
college, launching a lifelong bond with Waves head coach and water polo legend
Terry Schroeder. The brash Moses promised to win the starting goalie spot as a
freshman…and did. Two years later he guarded the cage as Pepperdine claimed the
1997 NCAA Championship. Not long after, he started competing with Team USA but
after being the final cut for the 2004 Olympic roster, Moses stepped away from
the game. Two years later Schroeder—then a member of the Team USA staff—lured
him out of an office and back to the water and the two teamed up for history in
2008. Frequently repeating a promise to "shock the world,"Moses
turned in a goalkeeping performance for the ages as the ninth-ranked Americans
surprised everyone with a Silver-medal finish. He'd go on to start in goal for
Team USA at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, adding three Pan-American Games
Golds and two FINA World League Silver medals to his resume. Abroad Moses
capped up for professional clubs in Spain, Italy, and Croatia while earning
multiple titles at home for the New York Athletic Club. He launched his
collegiate coaching career in 2012, returning to his alma mater. Serving as
associate head coach, once again alongside Schroeder, Moses most recently
helped the Waves claim Golden Coast Conference championships in 2016 and 2019
while reaching the NCAA Championship semifinals in 2019.
Kami Craig
An absolute force at the two-meter
position, Kami Craig is considered one of the best centers ever in an
international career that spanned 10 years with Team USA. Hailing from the
Santa Barbara area, which is well known for producing strong women's water polo
players, Craig quickly emerged as a talent to watch in the National Team
pipeline. Kami credits her resilience and tenacity to the diagnosis of her
learning differences at an early age, and she became a fierce advocate for
herself in the classroom while carving out a legendary career in the pool. At
USC Craig became the top player in the country, twice winning Cutino Award
honors as the college game's MVP. At the same time, her National Team career
got off to a great start as she claimed a FINA World Championship in 2007 as a
teenager. The next year, as the youngest member of Team USA, Craig was part of
a Silver-medal effort at the 2008 Beijing Games. While it was a stinging result
for the heavily favored Americans, the result only galvanized her dedication to
the red, white, and blue. From there the titles would stack up in rapid
fashion. In 2009 a second World Championship arrived in Rome, and she capped
her career with the Women of Troy to the tune of a NCAA title in 2010. In 2012
Craig played a major role in a breakthrough effort for Team USA: the program's
first Olympic Gold medal. Most notably, Craig delivered pivotal goals in a
semifinal victory to keep the Gold-medal dream alive. She followed that
performance with another World Championship in 2015 and then finished her
international career with a second-straight Olympic Gold at the Rio de Janeiro
Games in 2016. The final staggering tally of championships saw Craig add three
Pan American Games titles, two FINA World Cup titles, and nine FINA World
League Final crowns to her Olympic and World title hardware. A member of the
Pac-12 All-Century Team, Craig carved out a strong club career at home with the
New York Athletic Club, winning multiple titles while also capping up abroad
for the likes of Firenze and Olympiacos. Never far from the pool deck, Craig stays
engaged with water polo by conducting camps and clinics while mentoring young
athletes from a variety of sports.
Courtney Mathewson
The ultimate sharpshooter, Courtney
Mathewson's perimeter accuracy combined with a fearless determination made her
a vital piece of the USA Women's National Team from 2010 to 2016. The only
thing as consistent as Mathewson's shot was her winning record. Arriving at
UCLA in the mid-2000s out of Anaheim Hills, Mathewson comfortably transitioned
from a smaller high school program to the most dominant women's program of the
moment. Her focus in Westwood was singular, and Mathewson avoided National Team
overtures on her way to winning four-straight NCAA crowns under Head Coach Adam
Krikorian. In 2008 Mathewson won the Cutino Award as the college game's top
player and embarked on a professional career in Spain. A year later Krikorian
took over the controls for Team USA and Mathewson began training with the
reigning World Champions in 2010. After helping the squad to its first FINA
World Cup crown in 31 years that summer, Mathewson cemented her spot in Team
USA lore in 2011. On the brink of elimination in the 2011 Pan American Games'
Gold-medal match with Canada, Mathewson willed the team back with three second
half goals to force a shootout where the United States prevailed, allowing them
to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. A year later, Mathewson helped Team USA reach
the top of the podium, claiming the program's first Olympic title. The squad
followed with another World Cup crown in 2014 and a FINA World Championship in
2015. Mathewson wrapped her career with a second-straight Olympic crown at the
Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. Her winning ways included a second Pan Am Games
Gold and six FINA World League titles. A Pac-12 All-Century Team selection,
Mathewson competed domestically for the New York Athletic Club, earning
multiple titles there. She's stayed close to water polo conducting camps,
clinics, and swimming lessons in southern California.
Ericka Lorenz
A multi-sport star as a teenager in
the San Diego area, Ericka Lorenz might have been just as successful on the
softball field or volleyball court where she earned All-American and All-CIF
honors respectively while at Patrick Henry High School. Luckily for water polo,
"Monkey" (as she was known among teammates) chose the pool—and at
precisely the right time. Tabbed as an emerging star in the National Team
pipeline, Lorenz didn't put much immediate stock in being invited for a tryout
with Team USA in the fall of 1999 just as she was launching her collegiate
career with the University of California, Berkeley. However, her senior team
performance went so well that she put college on hold while contending for a
ticket to the 2000 Olympic Games, the first to feature women's water polo. Just
19 years old, Lorenz was part of that history-making squad that claimed Silver
in Sydney, helping build the foundation for what has become the most dominant
program in the world. Lorenz then returned to Cal and fast became a top player
nationally, racking up 81 goals in two seasons. She also remained entrenched
with Team USA, and in 2003 was part of the first FINA World Championship in
program history. That led to a second Olympic Games appearance in 2004, where
the squad earned Bronze in Athens. As her international career accelerated,
Lorenz launched her club career abroad as well, competing with the likes of
Ortigia-Siracusa in Italy. She battled through injuries to take part in a
banner year with Team USA in 2007 as the women claimed another FINA World
Championship, another Pan American Games title, and qualified for the 2008
Beijing Olympics—all without losing a single match. An attempt at a
third-straight Olympic Games for Lorenz was unfortunately halted due to
shoulder and knee injuries leading to her retirement in 2008. But her mark was
most definitely left on the squad as a dynamic player who helped usher in a new
era for women's water polo internationally. She's remained close to the water
these days, initially as a lifeguard in Huntington Beach, CA, and now serving
as an Ocean Lifeguard Specialist for Los Angeles County.
About USA Water Polo
USA Water Polo, Inc., is the national
governing body for water polo in America, overseeing our United States Olympic
program as well as 20 different championship events annually, such as Junior
Olympics and Masters National Championships. With more than 50,000 members,
USAWP also is the sanctioning authority for more than 500 member clubs and more
than 400 tournaments nationwide. USAWP is committed to the development of the
sport throughout the U.S., fostering grass-roots expansion while providing a
national system of affiliated clubs, certified coaches, and officials. For more
information, visit www.usawaterpolo.org.
Greg Mescall
Director of Communications, USA Water
Polo
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