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| Born | August 19, 1984 (age 39) Commerce, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Patricia Cardenas (born August 19, 1984) is an American water polo player. She played for Bell Gardens High School, Golden West College, University of Southern California, and the United States national water polo team. She won a silver medal with the U.S. at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Cardenas attended Bell Gardens High School, where she played water polo for four years and won four CIF Division III championships. She was a first team All-American three times. [1]
Cardenas played water polo for Golden West College. In 2002, the team won the state championship, and Cardenas was named the California Community College MVP. [1]
Cardenas later transferred to the University of Southern California. In 2006, her first season with the Trojans, she ranked third on the team with 40 goals. She was an All-American honorable mention. [1] She took a leave of absence from USC to train with the national team. [2]
Cardenas made the U.S. senior national team after attending open tryouts in 2006. In 2007, she scored four goals in the FINA World Championships, four goals in the FINA World League Super Final, and three goals in the Pan American Games; the U.S. finished first in all three tournaments. [3] At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Cardenas scored two goals, helping the U.S. win the silver medal. [4]
Cardenas was born in Commerce, California. She is 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) tall. She has two brothers and her family is of Mexican descent. [3] [5]
Brenda Villa is an American accomplished water polo player. She is the most decorated athlete in the world of women’s water polo. Villa was named Female Water Polo Player of the Decade for 2000-2009 by the FINA Aquatics World Magazine. She is one of four female players who competed in water polo at four Olympics; and one of two female athletes who won four Olympic medals in water polo. She is a leading goalscorer in Olympic water polo history, with 31 goals. In 2018, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.
Heather Danielle Petri is an American water polo player who won the silver medal with the US women's national team at the 2000 Summer Olympics, a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, a silver medal in Beijing in 2008 and a gold medal in London 2012. She is one of four female players who competed in water polo at four Olympics and one of two female athletes who won four Olympic medals in water polo. Her position is attacker.
Ericka Denise Lorenz is an American water polo player, who won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She also won a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
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Natalie Golda is a former American water polo player and currently the head coach of the newly formed Fresno State Bulldogs water polo team to begin competition in 2018. Considered one of the greatest women's water polo players of all time, her senior leadership helped guide the 2005 UCLA Bruins to their seventh national championship. In May 2005 Golda received the Peter J. Cutino Award, given to the best player in women's collegiate water polo. She was also a member of the US Water Polo Team that won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2015, she was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.
Moriah van Norman is an American water polo player who has played for the University of Southern California and the National team, who won the Peter J. Cutino Award in 2004, recognized as the best female collegiate player in the nation. Her position is two-meter offense.
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Lauren Ashley Wenger is an American water polo player for the University of Southern California, who received the 2006 Peter J. Cutino Award as the best collegiate water polo player among Division I NCAA teams. Her position is two-meter defender.
The United States women's national water polo team represents the United States in international women's water polo competitions and friendly matches. It is one of the leading teams in the world since the late 1990s. Women's water polo has been on the international stage since 1978 and was an exhibition sport at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics coached by Sandy Nitta before being introduced as a full medal sport in 2000.
Antigoni Roumpesi or Antigoni Roumbesi is a Greek water polo player, World Aquatics gold champion and Olympic silver medalist with the Greece women's national water polo team.
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Elsie Ann Windes is an American water polo player. After playing for the University of California, Berkeley, she joined the United States national team in 2006. She helped the U.S. win a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Kameryn Louise "Kami" Craig is an American water polo player. She was a member of the US water polo team that won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a gold medal in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016.
Melissa Jon Seidemann is an American water polo player. She won the National Championship with Stanford University in 2011. She also won the gold medal with the United States national team in the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics.
Margaret Ann Steffens is an American professional water polo player. She won the gold medal with the United States at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Steffens set a new Olympic record for the most goals scored by an individual player in women's water polo at the Olympic Games.
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