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Robertson & Wyckoff Named to 2011 USA Women's World University Games Roster
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. --A pair of Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) student-athletes and one of the league's head coaches will represent their nation next month as former University of Michigan standout Leah Robertson (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) and Indiana University goalie Cassie Wyckoff (Los Altos, Calif./Los Altos) were among 13 players selected to the USA Women's World University Games roster by Team USA/Michigan head coach Matt Anderson.
This summer's games will be held in Shenzhen, China from August 12-23. The international sporting competition is staged every two years in a different city, with the summer games consisting of 12 compulsory sports and up to three optional sports chosen by the host country.
The United States World University Games roster is limited to collegiate athletes that are within a year of their last collegiate competition. The 13 players that comprise the American team are considered members of USA Water Polo's Senior 'B' Team and earn a guaranteed try-out to represent the USA in the 2016 Olympic Games.
Team USA has been slotted in Group B along with Australia, France, Russia and Mexico. The team will open competition on August 12 against Australia.
The World University Games are open to all student-athletes that have not been out of college for more than a year and that are between 17 and 28 years old. Entries are accepted from any country which is eligible for the Olympic Games and from any national federation which is affiliated with an appropriate international federation.
Visit the official World University Games website to learn more about the competition.
Leah Robertson
A three-time All-America selection with third team accolades in
2009 and 2010 following an honorable mention nod in 2008, Robertson
concluded her time in Maize & Blue following the 2010 season.
Despite an injury that kept her out of the line-up during the
middle of her senior season, she earned Most Valuable Player
accolades for the CWPA Western Division and at the CWPA Eastern
Championship in leading the Wolverines to their third consecutive
Eastern crown. Robertson dented the twine a career high 45 times as
she strung together her third straight 50-point season. She is the
only Wolverine to earn a repeat selection to an NCAA All-Tournament
team, picking up a nomination for the third-straight season at the
2010 championship.
Cassie Wyckoff
A rising senior, Wyckoff earned Most Valuable Player laurels in
leading the Hoosiers to the 2011 CWPA Eastern Championship at home
against Michigan. A four-time Defensive Player of the Week
selection last season, she started all 39 games this season for the
Hoosiers, including three at the NCAA Championship hosted by
Michigan. The IU single-season saves record holder with 348 stops
in 2011, Wyckoff contributed 47 steals and dished out 22 assists
during her junior season. For her career, she has 752 saves,
good for second on the school's all-time list.
Matt Anderson
Under the guidance of Matt Anderson, Michigan has
become the pinnacle program of eastern water polo and is
consistently amongst the nations elite every season. A three-time
Collegiate Water Polo Association Coach of the Year honoree and
five-time division Coach of the Year, Anderson boasts a 268-94
(.740) record after completeing his ninth season at the helm for
the Maize and Blue.
A firm believer in developing complete players, Anderson
emphasizes putting forth the same effort to all aspects of the
game. His hard-nosed defensive philosophy and aggressive offensive
style have produced an Olympic goalkeeper in Betsey Armstrong
(2002-05), eight divisional most valuable players and 21 AWPCA
All-Americas selections -- including World University Games athlete
Leah Robertson.
His teams have enjoyed great success both in the conference and on
the national stage. The 2010 campaign marked the fourth time during
Anderson's tenure that Michigan advanced to the NCAA Championship.
Making their third trip in as many seasons, the Wolverines were the
fifth-seed at the 2010 NCAA Championship, setting a new standard
for a CWPA team since the NCAA field expanded to eight teams.
Michigan finished in fifth place at the 2009 national tournament,
earning a program and conference record No. 7 ranking in the final
national poll led by Robertson became the first Wolverine to earn a
repeat selection to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament team,
earning three-straight honors from 2008-10.
The preeminent program of the CWPA Western Division, U-M has
claimed the division crown in each of Anderson's first nine
seasons. Anderson led the Wolverines to a Southern Division title
in his first season and remains the lone coach to claim a Western
Division crown since realignment took place prior to the 2004
campaign. Under his tutelage, Michigan players have earned 47
nominations to the all-division team.
Michigan has made it to the championship game of the CWPA Eastern
Championship in all but two campaigns under Anderson. At the
conference championship, the Wolverines claimed titles in 2005,
2008, 2009 and 2010 and have placed 19 players on the
all-tournament team. Anderson coached current USA National Team
goalie Betsey Armstrong, All-America selection Julie Hyrne and
Robertson to championship Most Valuable Player honors in 2005, 2008
and 2010, respectively.
Anderson's teams have made a habit
of re-writing the record books on a yearly basis. After
establishing the program's highest victory total (35) in 2009, the
Wolverines set a new program standard for winning percentage (.865)
and fewest losses (5) during the 2011 campaign.
Michigan has not taken the easy road to success, having played 180
nationally-ranked teams during Anderson's tenure. In 2010, the
Wolverines were 14-5 against ranked opposition, improving their
record under Anderson to 89-91 against the nation's best programs.
On Feb. 27, 2010, Michigan became the first CWPA team to win
against a top-five opponent since the beginning of the modern era
with a victory over No. 3-ranked University of Hawaii.
Anderson's accomplishments have earned him the distinction of CWPA
`Doc Hunkler' Coach of the Year on three occasions - taking home
the hardware in 2005, 2008 and 2009. On the divisional level,
Anderson was named a coach of the year three times between 2004 and
2006 and added three more to his collection from 2009 through
2011.
Beyond his coaching duties, Anderson is highly involved in the
promotion and growth of the women's water polo game. In February,
2008, he was appointed to the NCAA Women's Water Polo Committee.
His term of service on the committee commenced on Sept. 1, 2008,
and will run through Sept. 1, 2012. The water polo committee
oversees the conduct of the NCAA Championship and playing
rules.
Anderson is a member of the five-person board of directors for the
Collegiate Water Polo Association as voted by his fellow collegiate
coaches. He also holds the position as treasurer for the
Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches and is ardently
involved with USA Water Polo.
Anderson is also currently the head coach of the United States
Women's Senior National 'B' Team and is an assistant coach with the
United States men's youth national team - formerly the U.S. cadet
team. He previously was the head coach of the national youth `B'
team for five years (1999-2003). Anderson helped lead the
16-and-under cadet team to a gold medal at the 2007 Pan American
U18 Youth Championships. During the summer of 2006, he helped the
squad to seventh at the 16-and-under World Championships - the
United States' highest placing at the competition. He was also
selected as one of four coaches at the 2009 USA Water Polo Speedo
Top 40 competition, coaching a team featuring Armstrong and
Robertson.
Prior to Michigan, Anderson spent the 2001 season as an assistant
coach at Indiana University, where he was responsible for the
Hoosiers' recruiting and conditioning. During his tenure at
Indiana, the Hoosiers improved from No. 20 in the nation to a
then-school-best No. 14. Prior to coaching at Indiana, Anderson was
an assistant coach at San Jose State (1999-2001), where he helped
his alma mater reach a top-five national ranking.
From 1997-2001, Anderson served as the Zone Six head development
coach for the Boy's 19-and-under development camps, the second
largest water polo member zone in the United States. His
responsibilities included recruitment, selection and implementation
of water polo programs for future Olympians.
Before coaching in the collegiate ranks, Anderson achieved over
200 victories in 11 years as a coach at the high school level. He
was the head coach as Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos, Calif.,
from 1993-2000. He started the girls program and coached the team
for two years along with an eight year stint at the helm of the
boys team. Over that time, he compiled more than 170 victories,
three league titles and one finals appearance in the CIF/CSS
divisional playoffs. In 1999, he was named the California
Interscholastic Federation/C.C.S. Honor Coach of the Year for his
devotion to students and the game of water polo at the high school
level. Anderson spent the three previous years at Newbury Park High
School in Thousand Oaks, Calif., serving as the head coach for
boy's water polo and girl's and boy's swimming from 1991-93. He
started his coaching career as the head coach of boy's water polo
at Santa Clara High School in Santa Clara, Calif., in 1990.
Prior to entering the coaching profession, he spent seven years as
the city youth coordinator for Sunnyvale, Calif. In that position,
he was responsible for school to career development for area youth,
including programs for at-risk and teen parents.
2011 Team USA Women's World
University Games Roster
C - Kimberly Benedetti (LMU '12/Stanford WPF)
AA- Caroline Clark (UCLA '12/Bruin WPC)
A - Nadia Dan (USC '12/LA Water Polo Club)
D - Forel Davies (USC '10/San Diego Shores)
A - Alyssa Lo (Stanford '12/Stanford WPF)
A - Pallavi Menon (Stanford '12/Stanford WPF)
GK - Amber Oland (Stanford '11/SoCal)
D - Julia Oreglia (California '11/Olympic Club)
C - Grace Reynolds (UCLA '11/NYAC)
D - Leah Robertson (Michigan '10/Newport WPF)
AA - Stephanie Schnugg (California '10/NYAC)
A - Adrianna Vogt (San Jose State '12/Norcal WPC)
GK - Cassie Wyckoff (Indiana '12/Stanford
WPF)
Head Coach: Matt Anderson (University of Michigan - Head
Coach)
Assistant Coach: Susan Ortwein (Stanford University - Associate
Head Coach)
Assistant Coach: Brandon Brooks (UCLA - Head Coach)
Manager: Ashley Papenbrock
