They probably don't share the same background as most California water polo clubs but there goals this fall are quite the same. They wanted to qualify for the 2008 Speedo Cup after coming up empty the last three years, and finally the waiting is over. They are the ORWP Titans which is short for Olimpiakan Reserner water polo, they represent Glendale, California, and they will be bringing a distinct Armenian flavor to Ann Arbor, Michigan this weekend.
According to Wikipedia, Glendale is the city with the largest Armenian population in the United States as forty percent of the cities population is made up of Armenians and within that some thirty percent speak the language at home. For years the Commerce club out of Commerce, CA had the market cornered on occasionally confusing opponents by speaking Spanish, but they now have company with ORWP and Armenian. Although as club administrator Marine Arakelyan points out it doesn't always help, "The team is definitely more unified because of the similar backgrounds they share, and using the foreign language does sometimes help, but not always," she said.
Languages aside what has become an all the time thing is the quality play of the Titans especially as of late on their run to a berth in the Speedo Cup. Led by head coach Vik Arakelyan a former water polo player out of what once was the Soviet Union, the 7th and 8th grade boys fought their way through a brutal qualifier to clinch a spot. Playing five games over two days in Santa Barbara the squad knocked off Commerce and Foothill to start. After that game a nailbiter against Los Angeles Water Polo club that would advance to a shootout. The Titans made all their shots while goalie Karen Gevorkyan was able to close the door on LA.
The win over LA Water Polo advanced the team to the semi-finals where they defeated the host team Santa Barbara by a three goal margin. From there they advanced to the finals where they would fall to Rose Bowl 8-6. However much like horseshoes and hand grenades they had come close enough and a second place finish earned them a spot in the Speedo Cup for the first time ever in club history.
Citing extra hard practices and a determined work ethic the team achieved a goal three years in the making but now they head to the University of Michigan with some new challenges ahead. "This will be a very good experience for our young players to play against some of the top teams in the nation. Our goal now is to get into the top four teams at the end and of course we would like to come back to Glendale with some medals,"
ORWP will count on the likes of Gevorkyan in the net as well as Jesse Camou, Vartan Mamikonyan, and Asatur Galfayan to help them build on what has been a steady year of success. Prior to the qualification tourney the team took second place in the Zone Championships, 16th at the S & R Sport Junior Olympics and 5th in the Kap 7 Tournament.
Even if things don't go as planned at this year's Speedo Cup the future looks very bright for the Titans. Their 10U age group is brand new and on fire taking first place at the Orange County Speedo Cup and 1st place in the Gold Bracket at the Junior Olympics. You can be sure it likely won't be three years before this club find themselves at the Speedo Cup again.
