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George Lilly, Emil Huebur, Wolf Wigo, Ryan McMillen, Graham Young, and Sam Johnson

Santa Barbara Water Polo Club’s 14U Girls team brought home the first major championship of the year winning the 2014 Winterfest title. Led by Cathy Neushul, Connor Levoff, and Kelsie Hendrix, Santa Barbara broke a string of runner-up finishes at Winterfest with solid victories over Socal in the quarters, Diablo in the semis, and Laguna Beach in the final. The 2014 Winterfest Champions include: Alex Syzmczak, Abbi Hill, Chloe Pena, Grace Raisin, Josie Thorpe, Jaymie Stryker, Georgia Ransone, Ryann Neushul, Olivia Kistler, Thea Neushul, Abagail Hendrix, and Cassidy Miller. Sophia Trumbull went the distance in goal.

Santa Barbara’s 14U B squad led by Connor Levoff and Pam Tanase won gold in the Winterfest B Division. The 14 BB Girls Gold medalists include Lili Rose Akin, Jordan Duggan, Anna Hepp, Abby Brummett, Sabina Shackelford, Ella Prentice, Kayla Peacock, Sara Engmyr, Sarah Owens, Fiona Kuesis, and Fiona Sonni. Piper Smith and Joie Ruiz split time in goal and the field for the 2014 Winterfest BB Champions..

The 12U Girls, led by Patrick Reynolds and managed by Christina Shackelford took home Silver after beating International and Back Bay before suffering a tough 6-3 Championship loss to Commerce water polo club. The 12’s included Hannah Meyer, Shannon Connolly, Charlize Winter, Ella Prentice, Abagail Hendrix, Sabina Shackelford, Claire Kronen, Megan Musick, Anna Cable, Cassidy Miller, and Emma Engmyr.

Santa Barbara Waterpolo’s Kodi Hill and Kiley Neushul opened the 2014 collegiate season with a bang as both garnered MPSF “Player of the Week” honors. Hill led the Bruins to victory at the UCLA Invitational scoring a total of six goals in four games while recording 10 assists and seven steals. Neushul led Stanford University to the championship at the 2014 Stanford Invitational last weekend scoring eleven goals. Hill and Neushul, longtime SBWPC and DPHS team mates, went head to head in the title match where Stanford prevailed 8-4. Each scored one goal in the final. Kodi’s older sister, Sami Hill, played an outstanding game in goal for the Bruins, stopping ten shots including a first quarter lob from Jamie Neushul, a freshman at Stanford.

All four collegians along with Tiera Schroeder (Cal) competed on Dos Pueblos High School’s record breaking teams that won four straight CIF Championships including a two-year undefeated record of 67-0. Sami Hill and Kiley Neushul are members of USA’s Senior National Team that won the 2014 Holiday Cup with victories over Holland, Russia, Canada, Australia, and Greece. Kodi Hill, Kiley Neushul, and Tiera Schroeder (Cal) led Team USA to the 2013 Junior World Championship in Volos Greece over the summer. Kelsey O’Brien, a Freshman at UCLA, also played in the championship game. Madeline Trabucco and Schroeder led Cal to third place at the Stanford Invitational with 12-6 victory over UCI. Trabucco, a freshman, is the Bear’s starting goalie.

Santa Barbara Water Polo Club is well represented nationally with twenty-three players on Division I NCAA’s water polo teams. Names to watch for this season include Sami Hill, Kodi Hill, and Kelsey O’Brien (UCLA); Tiera Schroeder and Madeline Trabucco (Cal), Kiley Neushul and Jamie Neushul (Stanford); Ashlea Coski and Alisa Argend (San Jose State); Laurel Kistler and Leah Gonzales (UCSD); Amanda Redfern (Indiana); Jade Wentz Fitzgerald, Sophie Trabucco, Tess Wardle, and Miranda Schrader (UCSB); Brittny Hummel (Sonoma State); Charlotte Hendrix (Harvard); Chandler Vilander (George Washington); MacKenzy Fowler (Cal State Northridge); Noelle Mann (UOP); Rose Koper (Claremont); and Hannah Koper (Brown).

Santa Barbara Water Polo alumni will meet next at the nation’s largest collegiate tournament held at UC Irvine on 22-23 February.

Huntington Beach Calif. – November 18, 2013 — John Abdou, a veteran collegiate and national team coach, has been named High Performance Director for USA Water Polo. In this position Abdou will oversee the Olympic Development Program in addition to coach and referee education and development. Working in unison with Senior National Team Head Coaches Adam Krikorian and Dejan Udovicic, Abdou will assist in implementing their technical vision throughout ODP and the USA Water Polo club system.

“The addition of John Abdou to the USA Water Polo staff fills an essential need on many fronts. Along with cementing the leadership of our Olympic Development Program, his experience as a coach, athlete, and award winning teacher will play a vital role in the education and development of our coaches and officials. I am confident he will integrate seamlessly with our National Teams and properly disseminate their tactical and technical visions to the water polo community at large with great success. We feel incredibly fortunate that a person with John’s experience, strong relationships across the country and high character and integrity will be joining our team,” said Marty Samuels, USA Water Polo Chief Operating Officer.

“I’m excited to serve the water polo community in America on a broader scale,” said Abdou. “I am extremely passionate about teaching and coaching, so the opportunity to do so on a full time basis for our country was one that I could not pass up. I look forward to working with all athletes, coaches, referees and community members to strengthen our success as an organization both domestically and internationally.”

Currently the Associate Head Coach for men’s water polo at the University of California-Santa Barbara and Director/Boy’s Head Coach of the Santa Barbara Water Polo Club, Abdou will begin his post with USA Water Polo full-time following the conclusion of the 2013 men’s collegiate season. Prior to his time in Isla Vista, Abdou spent five years at Bucknell University, the last two serving as Head Coach of both the men’s and women’s programs. Within USA Water Polo, Abdou has remained active in the National Team pipeline in his position as ODP East Region Technical Director since 2008. Since 2010 he has also been a part of the coaching staff of the Men’s Senior National “B” Team.

A former social science teacher at Burbank High School, Abdou competed for the UC-Irvine men’s water polo team earning his undergraduate degree in sociology in 2001. He added a masters degree in education from Bucknell in 2009. Abdou currently resides in Goleta, CA and will soon live in Huntington Beach, CA with his wife Anna and their son Gabriel.

Santa Barbara Water Polo Club 14 Girls advanced to the championship game at the 2013 TYR Champions Cup at Indiana University this weekend.

Team members include (not in order): Thea Neushul, Georgia Ransone,
Alex Szymczak, Lilliana Rose Akin, Ryann Neushul, Abbi Hill, Fiona Sonni, Grace Raisin, Jocelyn
Thorp, Chloe Pena, Olivia Kistler, Sarah Owens, Joie Ruiz, and Anna Hepp, and Piper Smith.

The tournament’s top seed, and defending champion, Santa Barbara defeated United Water Polo, Greenwich, and Rosebowl to advance to the semi-finals. After losing to Socal in the seeding round, Santa Barbara defeated Diablo Water Polo Club 8-5 on Monday morning in the semi-final game. They then met perennial power Socal in the championship game losing 6-8. The team is coached by Cathy Neushul and Connor Levoff.

Ryann Neushul, in her fourth consecutive Champions Cup and Abbi Hill, MVP of the 2013 12U National Junior Olympics, led Santa Barbara in Indiana. Santa Barbara’s squad included cup veterans Thea Neushul, Georgia Ransone, and Alex Szymczak. Lilliana Rose Akin, Fiona Sonni, Grace Raisin, Jocelyn Thorp, Chloe Pena, Olivia Kistler, Sarah Owens, Joie Ruiz, and Anna Hepp completed a strong Santa Barbara squad. Piper Smith had an outstanding tournament in goal. Many team members competed on Santa Barbara’s 2013 12U Girls National Club and National Junior Olympic Championship teams. Jocelyn Thorp received the 2013 Maureen O’Toole Sportsmanship Award for her outstanding team play.

Santa Barbara’s U14 boys coached by Joe O’Brien and Peera Sukavivatanachai defeated Naperville and tied eventual silver medalist Socal Water Polo Club on Friday before losing to Greenwich and Vanguard in bracket play on Saturday, and San Diego Shores on Sunday to take 8th place at the 2013 TYR Champions Cup.

Members of this year’s squad are coming off strong spring and summer seasons where they took bronze at the National Club Championships and placed fourth at the 2013 National Junior Olympic Championships. Santa Barbara’s squad includes 2012 Cup veterans Evan Blix, Jacob Ehrhardt, Henry Hepp, and Jack Phreaner (goalie). Andrew McCombs, Peyton Collins, Parker Matthews, Jason Teng, Dario Bucy, Collin Bosse, Samuel Fuller, John Magoun, Robert Goligoski, Allan Green, and Thomas Corey completed SB’s 14U Boys squad. Henry Hepp received the 2013 Jody Campbell Sportsmanship Award for his outstanding team play.

On Sunday, Team USA including SBAC starts Kodi Hill, Kiley Neushul, and Tiera Schroeder faced defending Junior World Champion Spain in the Gold Medal game. The US built a 6-2 lead at the half but the Spanish fought back using outside shots to close within two going into the fourth quarter. Spain closed to 6-7 during the fourth quarter but a score by Neushul, her third of the game, extended the US lead in the final minutes. The 9-7 final gave Team USA its first Junior World Title since 2005.

Kiley Neushul, Tiera Schroeder, and Kodi Hill have a lot in common. All three played for Santa Barbara Aquatics Club and Dos Pueblos High School where they won National Club Championships, Junior Olympic Titles, and led Dos Pueblos to an unprecedented two-year 67-0 streak in Division I CIF water polo.

Now at Stanford, Cal, and UCLA, the trio continues to win big games. Neushul led the Cardinal to the 2012 NCAA Championship and was named player of the year. Schroeder is a standout for Cal and represented the U.S. at the 2013 World University Games in Russia. Hill led the Bruins in assists during her freshman year and was a stellar center defender in helping UCLA to a third place finish at the NCAA Championships.

SBAC generates some of the most sought after recruits in women’s water polo and it is rare that players end up at the same school. For past two seasons Neushul, Schroeder, and Hill played innumerable games against each other. This summer the trio has something new in common as they reunited on Team USA at the 2013 Junior World Championships in Volos, Greece.

Team USA won their bracket with decisive victories over Kazakhstan, Italy, and New Zealand. The last US Junior World Championship was in 2005 when SBAC’s Kami Craig helped lead the team to victory in Perth, Australia. Kiley Neushul and Sami Hill led the US to a Bronze Medal at the 2009 Junior World Championship in Khanty-Mansiysk, Siberia.

SBAC’s trio faces a tough Hungarian team in the quarterfinal match on Thursday. Hungary’s team includes members of their senior team that won a Bronze Medal at the 2013 World Championship in Barcelona, Spain.