Sean Grab, Ben Stevenson, Kyle Trush, Lance Morrison, Nick Fadden, Vlad Kazanskiy, Antoine Lena, Viktor Nagy, Andrew Reego, Kostas Genidounias, Crisitiano Mirarchi, Spencer Hamby, Jeremy Davie, Daniel Lenhart, John MacLeane, Eric Sturgeon, & Jt Sarmento
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, August 3rd, 4th, & 5th, Alumni Water Polo Club finished out its 2018 U. S. A. National League year in thrilling fashion. In the second U. S. A. Men's Senior National Championship Tournament, Alumni WPC won the Club National Champions. The Tournament took place at the was at the University of the Pacific under thick smoke from the nearby forest fires at the Kjeldsen Aquatic Center. The invite-only Championship tournament featured the 12 best programs in the entire country. On the weekend, Alumni Water Polo Club went 5-1 to repeat as the 2018 U. S. A. Men's Senior National Champions!
ALUMNI WPC 17 v UC SB 03
In the first game of the long weekend, Alumni WPC took on the University of California, Santa Barbara. In what was a blow out almost immediately, Alumni WPC saw many of its players get on the board, but Ben Stevenson UOP was unstoppable with 6 goals. Just as strong as its offense, Alumni WPC's defense with set guard Kyle Trush UCI and goalkeeper Viktor Nagy HUN at the helm held the usually potent UCSB offense to just 3 goals in the 17-3 win.
ALUMNI WPC 07 v O CLUB 08
For the last game of the first day, the two powerhouse clubs Alumni WPC and the Olympic Club met again. The O CLUB who had swept all major national tournaments of the year was keen on winning the final Championship of the year and complete the first sweep in a long time. O CLUB showed why they had been so dominant all year. Its team cohesion is unmatched and with talent to match they were hard to stop. They built an early lead while Alumni WPC was figuring out exactly to perform at its max potential with some new faces on the team. The second half was much better and Alumni WPC made a great push to win. Kyle Trush UCI unfortunately fouled out late in the 3rd and when he went out it was hard to fill his role. Jeremy Davie USC was huge for Alumni WPC with 3 physical goals out of center and Kostas Genidounias USC did his part with 2 goals. It was a battle until the very end, but O CLUB was able to hold off the Alumni WPC attack and got the victory 7-8 under the lights.
ALUMNI WPC 13 v NYAC B 08
Alumni WPC knew it still had a very real shot at making the Championship, but now its path was much more difficult. But before that, it needed to rebound and had to get past two difficult opponents on day two. First, Alumni WPC took on the NYAC B team. But do not let the "B" fool you. This was a team riddled with former NCAA All-Americans and it was a team keen on making the upset. Alumni WPC started off rocky offensively, but it still managed to maintain the lead. Though, Alumni WPC never really blew the game out like maybe it should have, the game's fate was never in doubt. Ben Stevenson UOP scored 3 more goals, along with Lance Morrison UOP, Cristiano Mirarchi UCLA, and Spencer Hamby PEP adding 2 goals each. Alumni WPC won 13-9.
ALUMNI WPC 13 v UC D 09
In a rematch of the weekend before Pacific Coast League Championship game, Alumni WPC faced the University of California, Davis. In a similar game to the last one, Alumni WPC dominated early and saw a significant margin most of the game. However, UCD proved again to not be so easily defeated. They kept pushing and kept fighting and brought the game to be much closer than it should have been. Alumni WPC's scoring was consistent led by Lance Morrison with 3 and Jeremy Davie USC and Kyle Trush each with 2 of their own. Alumni WPC closed out the game 13-9 and earned its spot in the Semi Final.
ALUMNI WPC 10 v NYAC 05
Due to the loss, Alumni WPC had to face the formidable New York Athletic Club in the Semi Final game. NYAC had the most talented team in the Tournament as it usually does seeing the majority of the U. S. A. Senior National Team on its team. But it was Alumni WPC's current U. S. A. Senior National Team players Kyle Trush UCI and Ben Stevenson UOP who stole the show. Kyle Trush UCI and Ben Stevenson UOP were dominant in every way and both led all scorers with 3 goals each. Alumni WPC also had the 2-time Hungarian Olympic Goalkeeper Viktor Nagy who played lights out all weekend never allowing 10 or more goals in any game and holding the star-studded NYAC team to just 5 goals. Alumni WPC took the lead on its first possession and got up 4-1 by the end of the first quarter and never looked back. Alumni WPC won an all-around dominant game 10-5 to see its place into the Championship game. This victory also forced NYAC out of the running, meaning for the second year in a row, the players on the NYAC team would not get to enjoy the all-expenses paid trip to the physical New York Athletic Club in New York City, New York if it did not win this Tournament. It also meant that for the first time in over a decade or more, NYAC did not win a single national tournament all year long for 2018.
ALUMNI WPC 07 v O CLUB 05
For the Championship, it was always meant to be. Alumni WPC would face the Olympic Club again. This time though the Alumni WPC was more cohesive and was not going to lose to OCLUB again. OCLUB was extremely tough as usual though. It took the early lead 1-3 and had Alumni WPC fighting to stay in it. It was easily the most physical, hotly-contested game of the entire year. In fact, one of the OCLUB star players Marin Balarin CAL was forced out of the game after getting a broken nose while playing in the center position. OCLUB was dead set on completing its sweep of all major national tournaments and at half it saw a 3-5 lead. But the second was all Alumni WPC. To say Viktor Nagy HUN was hard to beat would be an understatement. The international superstar did not allow a single goal the entire second half blocking absolutely everything thrown at him. Then behind a goal from Kostas Genidounias, Cristiano Mirarchi, Jeremy Davie, and Kyle Trush Alumni WPC won the second half 4-0 taking the Championship in truly the most thrilling game of the entire National League Season 7-5!
Ben Stevenson, John MacLeane, Vlad Kazanskiy, Kyle Trush, Nick Fadden, Lance Morrison, Antoine Lena, Jeremy Davie, Crisitano Mirarchi, Jt Sarmento, Kostas Genidounias, Andrew Reego, Daniel Lenhart, Spencer Hamby, Sean Grab, Viktor Nagy, & Eric Sturgeon
To see more pictures from the weekend please go to the link:
2018 U. S. A. SENIOR NATIONALS CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTER
1. Chay Lapin Goalie UCLA
2. Jeremy Davie Set USC
3. Nikola Vavic Leftie USC
4. Nick Fadden Driver FPU
5. Kostas Genidounias Driver USC
6. Andrew Reego Driver USC
7. Lance Morrison Set UOP
8. Kyle Trush Guard UCI
9. Greg Enloe Guard UCI
10. Cristiano Mirarchi Driver UCLA
11. Spencer Hamby Set PEPP
12. Vlad Kazanskiy Guard SJSU
13. Viktor Nagy Goalie HUN
14. Daniel Lenhart Leftie UCLA
15. Ben Stevenson Driver UOP
16. Antoine Lena Driver UCI
17. Jt Sarmento Guard UOP
18. Derek Clappis Leftie UOP
Head Coach - Robert Lynn
Assistant Coach - Eric Sturgeon
Alternative Coach - Jack Stabenfeldt
Alternative Coach - Sean Grab
Alternative Coach - Joey Frantz
Alternative Coach - Andrew Reego
2018 U. S. A. SENIOR NATIONALS CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULTS
ROUND PLAY
ALUMNI WPC 17 v UC SB 03
Ben Stevenson 6, Kyle Trush 3, Spencer Hamby 2, Kostas Genidounias 2, Cristiano Mirarchi 1,
ALUMNI WPC 17 v UC SB 03
Ben Stevenson 6, Kyle Trush 3, Spencer Hamby 2, Kostas Genidounias 2, Cristiano Mirarchi 1,
Jeremy Davie 1, Daniel Lenhart 1, Derek Clappis 1 |
Viktor Nagy 15 blocks
Viktor Nagy 15 blocks
ROUND PLAY
ALUMNI WPC 07 v O CLUB 08
Jeremy Davie 3, Kostas Genidounias 2,
ALUMNI WPC 07 v O CLUB 08
Jeremy Davie 3, Kostas Genidounias 2,
Spencer Hamby 1, Andrew Reego 1 |
Viktor Nagy 8 blocks
Viktor Nagy 8 blocks
ROUND PLAY
ALUMNI WPC 13 v NYAC B 08
Ben Stevenson 3, Cristiano Mirarchi 2,
ALUMNI WPC 13 v NYAC B 08
Ben Stevenson 3, Cristiano Mirarchi 2,
Spencer Hamby 2, Lance Morrison 2,
Kostas Genidounias 1, Andrew Reego 1,
Jt Sarmento, Kyle Trush 1 |
Viktor Nagy 10 blocks
ROUND PLAY
ALUMNI WPC 13 v UC D 09
Lance Morrison 3, Kyle Trush 2, Jeremy Davie 2,
ALUMNI WPC 13 v UC D 09
Lance Morrison 3, Kyle Trush 2, Jeremy Davie 2,
Ben Stevenson 1, Daniel Lenhart 1,
Spencer Hamby 1, Antoine Lena 1,
Kostas Genidounias 1, Andrew Reego 1 |
Viktor Nagy 6 blocks
SEMI FINAL
ALUMNI WPC 10 v NYAC A 05
Ben Stevenson 3, Kyle Trush 3, Lance Morrison 2,
ALUMNI WPC 10 v NYAC A 05
Ben Stevenson 3, Kyle Trush 3, Lance Morrison 2,
Andrew Reego 1, Kostas Genidounias 1 |
Viktor Nagy 12 blocks
Viktor Nagy 12 blocks
THE CHAMPIONSHIP
ALUMNI WPC 07 v O CLUB 05
Cristiano Mirarchi 2,
ALUMNI WPC 07 v O CLUB 05
Cristiano Mirarchi 2,
Kyle Trush 1, Ben Stevenson 1, Jeremy Davie 1,
Kostas Genidounias 1, Nick Fadden 1 |
Viktor Nagy 12 blocks
Viktor Nagy 12 blocks
LEADING SCORERS FOR THE WEEKEND
1. Viktor Nagy 63 blocks (6) 10.5 MVP
1. Ben Stevenson 14(6) 2.3
2. Kyle Trush 10(6) 1.6
3. Kostas Genidounias 8(6) 1.3
4. Lance Morrison 7(5) 1.4
4. Jeremy Davie 7(6) 1.2
4. Spencer Hamby 7(6) 1.2
5. Cristiano Mirarchi 5(6) 1.0
6. Andrew Reego 4(6) 0.6
6. Daniel Lenhart 3(6) 0.5
7. Nick Fadden 1(5) 0.2
7. Jt Sarmento 1(5) 0.2
8. Antoine Lena 1(6) 0.2
8. Derek Clappis 1(6) 0.2
9. Vladimir Kazanskiy 0(6) 0.0
1. Ben Stevenson 14(6) 2.3
2. Kyle Trush 10(6) 1.6
3. Kostas Genidounias 8(6) 1.3
4. Lance Morrison 7(5) 1.4
4. Jeremy Davie 7(6) 1.2
4. Spencer Hamby 7(6) 1.2
5. Cristiano Mirarchi 5(6) 1.0
6. Andrew Reego 4(6) 0.6
6. Daniel Lenhart 3(6) 0.5
7. Nick Fadden 1(5) 0.2
7. Jt Sarmento 1(5) 0.2
8. Antoine Lena 1(6) 0.2
8. Derek Clappis 1(6) 0.2
9. Vladimir Kazanskiy 0(6) 0.0