Irvine, CA - February 14 - USA Water Polo is proud to announce the 2023 Zone Award Winners. The winners, representing zones from all across the country, honor contributions in variety of areas including coaching, officiating, volunteering, masters water polo, and more. From these zone award winners will come the USA Water Polo National Award winners. Congratulations to all of our award winners!
Brenda Villa Award (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - Individual)
| Nominee Zone |
Recipient |
| Central |
Greg Gillet |
| Coastal |
Bobby Contreras |
| Hawaii |
James Ward |
| Midwest |
Mac Varilla |
| Mountain |
Nathaniel Anderson |
| Northeast |
Sian Lewandowski, Julia Rosado, and Patrick Cucchiarelli |
| Pacific |
Phong Pham |
| Pacific NW |
Daniel Ramirez |
| Pacific SW |
Asante Bomaye |
| Southeast |
Ashleigh Johnson |
| Southern Pacific |
Bob Casper |
| Southwest |
Ahmad Zahra |
Brenda Villa Award - Club (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - Team)
| Nominee Zone |
Recipient |
| Central |
SLOWPC |
| Coastal |
Arise WPC |
| Hawaii |
Honolulu Master Water Polo |
| Midwest |
Chicago Park District |
| Mountain |
Denver Squid |
| Northeast |
District Blossoms Water Polo Club |
| Pacific |
Pacifica Fog Water Polo |
| Pacific NW |
Washington Wolfpack Water Polo Club |
| Pacific SW |
San Diego Shores |
| Southeast |
Hialeah Storm Water Polo |
| Southern Pacific |
Elite Water Polo |
| Southwest |
Southside Water Polo Club |
Monte Nitzkowski Award (Elite Men's Coach)
| Nominee Zone |
Recipient |
| Central |
James Graham |
| Coastal |
Gavin Arroyo |
| Hawaii |
N/A |
| Midwest |
Ryan Prior |
| Mountain |
Alan Huckins |
| Northeast |
Dusty Litvak |
| Pacific |
Kirk Everist |
| Pacific NW |
Mark Albert Lewis |
| Pacific SW |
Matt Ustaszewski |
| Southeast |
Carroll Vaughn |
| Southern Pacific |
Dan Klatt |
| Southwest |
Trent Calder |
Sandy Nitta Award (Elite Women's Coach)
| Nominee Zone |
Recipient |
| Central |
Kandice Waldthaler |
| Coastal |
Adam Wright |
| Hawaii |
N/A |
| Midwest |
Cassandra Churnside |
| Mountain |
Petra Pardi |
| Northeast |
Derek Ellingson |
| Pacific |
John Tanner |
| Pacific NW |
Mike Wallen |
| Pacific SW |
Nikki Davidson |
| Southeast |
Alexander Bennett |
| Southern Pacific |
Jennifer Spalding |
| Southwest |
Mark Lawrence |
Bill Barnett Award (Scholastic Men's Coach)
| Nominee Zone |
Recipient |
| Central |
Heather Moody |
| Coastal |
Tom Davis |
| Hawaii |
Shawn Williamson |
| Midwest |
David McWaters |
| Mountain |
Andrew Schneider |
| Northeast |
Yevgeniy Prokhin |
| Pacific |
John Deluca |
| Pacific NW |
Kristin Gellert |
| Pacific SW |
Doug Peabody |
| Southeast |
Michael Goldenberg |
| Southern Pacific |
Justin Johnson |
| Southwest |
Donzie Lillie |
Doc Hunkler Award (Scholastic Women's Coach)
| Nominee Zone |
Recipient |
| Central |
Noah Minton |
| Coastal |
Brian Roth |
| Hawaii |
Anthony Cabrera |
| Midwest |
Laszlo Hruza |
| Mountain |
Megan Beaudet |
| Northeast |
Ali Templin |
| Pacific |
Ryan Sevilla |
| Pacific NW |
Denny Piccolotto |
| Pacific SW |
Ian Davidson |
| Southeast |
Petar Solomun |
| Southern Pacific |
Christina O'Beck |
| Southwest |
Scott Slay |
Ted Newland Award (Development Men's Coach)
| Nominee Zone |
Recipient |
| Central |
Andrew Pasquini & Brian Traverso |
| Coastal |
Jessie Iniquez |
| Hawaii |
Ray Nunez |
| Midwest |
Mike Gruszeki |
| Mountain |
Maureen Davenport |
| Northeast |
Robert Zhang |
| Pacific |
Ben Baldwin |
| Pacific NW |
Daniel Ramirez |
| Pacific SW |
Cyrus Kahangi |
| Southeast |
Alexander Donis |
| Southern Pacific |
Ryan Penrod |
| Southwest |
N/A |
Brent Bohlender Award (Development Women's Coach)
| Nominee Zone |
Recipient |
| Central |
Eric Benson |
| Coastal |
Jason Rosenthal |
| Hawaii |
Eko Lapp |
| Midwest |
Nicole Lum |
| Mountain |
Kailin Isaacson |
| Northeast |
Gabriel Maldonado |
| Pacific |
Cathy Cantoni |
| Pacific NW |
Mike Wallen |
| Pacific SW |
Jacob Pril |
| Southeast |
Stephanie J Posell |
| Southern Pacific |
Bridgette Alvarez |
| Southwest |
TJ Markiewicz |
Bret Bernard Award (Elite Referee)
| Nominee Zone |
Recipient |
| Central |
Brandon Skiba |
| Coastal |
Julie Settum |
| Hawaii |
N/A |
| Midwest |
Aleks Mitrevski |
| Mountain |
Victor Nguyen |
| Northeast |
Alex Stankevitch |
| Pacific |
Andrew Selder |
| Pacific NW |
Angela Uno |
| Pacific SW |
Danielle Dabbaghian |
| Southeast |
Stephanie Villalobos |
| Southern Pacific |
Mark Despars |
| Southwest |
Wes Mahan |
Tom Hermstad Award (Scholastic Referee)
| Nominee Zone |
Recipient |
| Central |
David Mases |
| Coastal |
Jerry Gonzales |
| Hawaii |
N/A |
| Midwest |
Ivan Munoz |
| Mountain |
Matt Langford |
| Northeast |
Kyle Rekedal |
| Pacific |
N/A |
| Pacific NW |
Courtney Bird |
| Pacific SW |
Steve Traverso |
| Southeast |
Vito Dioguardi |
| Southern Pacific |
Scott McDill |
| Southwest |
Nickolas Calapan |
Aaron Chaney Award (Development Referee)
| Nominee Zone |
Recipient |
| Central |
Eric Douglas |
| Coastal |
Gary O'Brien |
| Hawaii |
N/A |
| Midwest |
Jonny Smith |
| Mountain |
Audrey Hall |
| Northeast |
Irakli Sanadze |
| Pacific |
N/A |
| Pacific NW |
Brent Tollefson |
| Pacific SW |
Andrea Alexander "Betty" |
| Southeast |
Mosaab Omar |
| Southern Pacific |
Jame RuoRock |
| Southwest |
Jaymes "Andrew" Pomier |
Club Sportsmanship Award
| Nominee Zone |
Recipient |
| Central |
N/A |
| Coastal |
Route 66 |
| Hawaii |
Oahu Water Polo Club |
| Midwest |
Southwest Ohio Sea Monsters |
| Mountain |
Denver Water Polo |
| Northeast |
WCAC Maverick Water Polo |
| Pacific |
N/A |
| Pacific NW |
Puget Sound Polo |
| Pacific SW |
East County Aquatics |
| Southeast |
Dynamo Atlanta |
| Southern Pacific |
OC Riptide |
| Southwest |
Mavericks |
Barbara Kalbus Award (Volunteer of the Year)
| Nominee Zone |
Recipient |
| Central |
Alan Korsgaden |
| Coastal |
James De Leon |
| Hawaii |
Kiana Villanueva |
| Midwest |
Ryan Castle |
| Mountain |
Brad Peercy |
| Northeast |
Diane Ohl |
| Pacific |
Scott Andron |
| Pacific NW |
Amy Brandvold |
| Pacific SW |
Dan Way |
| Southeast |
Tina Flowers |
| Southern Pacific |
Michael Ann Pevehouse |
| Southwest |
Heather Joojen |
Bryan Weaver Award (Male Masters Athlete of the Year)
| Nominee Zone |
Recipient |
| Central |
Rich Kahn |
| Coastal |
James Kruse |
| Hawaii |
N/A |
| Midwest |
Jamie Rozypal |
| Mountain |
Christopher Horne |
| Northeast |
Bill Hallisey |
| Pacific |
Colin Mulcahy |
| Pacific NW |
Tyler Soo |
| Pacific SW |
Rick Freyre |
| Southeast |
Ron Van Gent |
| Southern Pacific |
Raymond Bueche |
| Southwest |
Nick Calapan |
Dion Gray Award (Female Masters Athlete of the Year)
| Nominee Zone |
Recipient |
| Central |
Leslie Story |
| Coastal |
Nila Ward |
| Hawaii |
Cheryl Lynn Miller |
| Midwest |
Catie Wallace |
| Mountain |
Hannah Harvey |
| Northeast |
Kim Tierney Wang |
| Pacific |
Julia Cesnik |
| Pacific NW |
Bernadette Ray |
| Pacific SW |
Kate Lubsen |
| Southeast |
Taylor Bullock |
| Southern Pacific |
Elizabeth Lovat |
| Southwest |
Ashley Guapacha |
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