SoFlo Water Polo Blog: July 2018

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

UF's Jessie Modrak: Colorado Springs Photo Update

"So grateful for the opportunity to see new places in the US, work with incredible people, and award our top athletes of all ages as national champions in various road and mountain bike events! @usacycling thank you for the learning experience and I hope to see you all again very soon."

The Colorado Kid

Jack Grover Named UCLA Men's Water Polo Assistant Coach

LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men's water polo team has hired Bruin standout Jack Grover to the post of assistant coach, head coach Adam Wright announced today. Grover, who replaces Ryder Roberts, has served as a coach with the Bruin Stars and Stripes Water Polo Club since February of 2018 and also served as an instructor at UCLA Sports Camps in 2017, teaching fundamentals of water polo to youth from 7-17 years of age.

Grover, an attacker (Pasadena, Calif./Loyola HS) for the Bruins from 2013-17, won three NCAA titles (2014, 2015 and 2017) and received honorable mention All-America recognition in 2017. He also was named second team All-MPSF and earned MPSF All-Academic accolades for the second time in his career in 2017.

During his four years as a Bruin, he helped lead his teams to arguably the best and most dominant seasons in UCLA men's water polo history. His senior class left UCLA with the second-best record by percentage at 91.3% with an overall record of 105-10. The 105 career wins are the third-most in UCLA history -- nine behind the 2015 class (114 career wins) and seven behind the 2016 class (112 career victories). He ended his career with 51 goals in 107 games while making 38 starts.

"I have known Jack now for 10 years as I had the chance to coach him while he was playing club ball," coach Wright said. "At the time, I had no clue how our paths would continue to cross. What Jack was able to do here at UCLA as a student-athlete was truly incredible. He absolutely invested everything he could into our UCLA Men's Water Polo program and that is what put him in a position to be successful over his playing career here at UCLA."

From a young age, it was apparent that Jack was a student of the game, and that in turn put our program in a position to be successful. Jack not only set the standard within our program of being a student of the game but he also set the standard of how we approach our everyday training. He constantly moved the needle forward with our culture and standards. We are very lucky to be adding somebody as dedicated as him to our program. He will be a great teacher and mentor to our current student-athletes as well as our future Bruins."

The defending NCAA Champions will compete in three different regular-season invitationals during the year, including at UCLA, at Princeton and at Stanford.

It all starts on Saturday, Sept. 1 at Spieker Aquatics Center as the Bruins face Fresno Pacific at 8:00 a.m. PT in the first game of the UCLA Invitational. UCLA will also face Whittier (10:30 a.m.) and Pomona-Pitzer (2:15 p.m.) before hosting USC in an exhibition game at 4:45 p.m.

The Bruins finished the 2017 season by winning the program's 11th NCAA Championship and the school's 114th overall with a 7-5 victory at USC. UCLA finished the year with a 21-4 overall record. It was UCLA's third NCAA title in the last four years.

Coach Paloma: Coral Springs water polo standout makes splash at Sunshine State Games

Paloma Szivos, 28, of Coral Springs, passes to an open teammate while competing with the South Florida Water Polo Club's Women's Open team during the 25th annual Sunshine State Games Water Polo Championships at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex.

(photo/gary curreri/correspondent)

Gary CurreriSpecial correspondent

Coral Springs’ Paloma Szivos swam the butterfly stroke in high school when she was introduced to water polo.

The 28-year-old gave the sport a try and soared into a solid career — first as a collegian, then in Hungary and now as a player-coach for the South Florida Water Polo Club’s Women’s Open team.

Her squad was one of 56 teams that competed in the 25th annual Sunshine State Games (SSG) Water Polo Championships.

The showcase event took place at both the Pompano Beach Aquatic Complex and the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex.

Teams came to the Sunshine State Games from as far away as Trinidad and Tobago.

The three-day tournament featured competition in nine divisions.

The water polo coach at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where Szivos graduated in 2009, first noticed her potential when she was on the Eagles’ swim team.

“(Coach) said I looked like I would be a strong water polo player and they needed a center,” said Szivos, who is a Hungarian. “I tried it and after one practice I never looked back to swimming.”

Szivos, who started out in the sport at age 17, subsequently carved out a nice career at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“There are strategies to focus on and teammates you can work with unlike individual sports and I love that,” she noted. “It’s fun. It’s challenging. It’s endurance. It’s strength. It’s everything and I think it is a great sport.”

Another aspect of the sport that Szivos enjoys is what is hidden from public view.

“I would say 60 percent of the game is underwater,” Szivos said. “Depending on how you are able to manipulate your defender is how well you can play offense. (Your) size doesn’t matter, it is all about the technique.”

There was naturally a learning curve for Szivos, who went from being a swimmer to playing for the South Florida Water Polo Club for 10 years. Once she adapted, which didn’t take long, she went on to being named an All-American in high school and as a collegian at St. Francis she erupted for six goals against California Lutheran University in 2012.

“I loved the sport so much I absorbed everything I was taught basically,” Szivos said. “It was also a huge learning thing in college, but I loved it.”

Natalie Mahalec, age 18 and a recent graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas High School, is headed to St. Francis College thanks to the recommendation of Szivos and South Florida Water Polo Club head coach Mike Goldenberg.

“Water polo is really fun because it is a mix of different sports,” said Mahalec, who has been a member of the South Florida Water Polo Club since the eighth grade. “I love water polo because you are not just swimming. You can show how aggressive you are and it doesn’t matter what size you are, your speed or strength.”

The South Florida Water Polo Club Women’s Open team reached the semifinals at the Sunshine State Games. The squad (2-2) dropped a hard-fought 8-6 decision to the eventual champion Miami Riptides.

The club’s 16-under boys team won its division, while the 14-under and 18-under boys teams both finished runner-up. The club also took third place in both the girls 18-under and Men’s Open Divisions.