Brian Alexander (water polo)

Brian Alexander
Personal information
Nickname(s) Thor[1]
Nationality American
Born (1983-05-03) May 3, 1983
Santa Ana, California,
United States
Alma mater UC Santa Barbara
Years active 2004–2012
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight 220 lb (100 kg)
Sport
Country United States
Sport Men's water polo
Position Field
University team UC Santa Barbara men's water polo
Club
Turned pro 2005
Updated on 20:31, 17 September 2014 (UTC).

Brian Alexander (born May 3, 1983) is a former American water polo player who was a member of the United States men's national water polo team.

Playing career

Youth and collegiate

Alexander competed with Foothill High School, where he was named to the All-CIF Division I boys water polo team after scoring 91 goals in his senior year.[2]

Alexander played collegiate water polo at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He was named a 3rd team All-American in 2003[3] and 2004[4] while playing with the Gauchos.

Professional

Alexander started his professional career in Spain in 2005 with Spain's Aguas De Valencia.[5] He stayed with the club until 2007 before joining Greek side NO Patras in 2008 and stayed until 2009.[6]

2010 saw Alexander move to Australian National Water Polo League club Victorian Tigers and was named to the 2010 All Star team[7] en route to winning the 2010 NWPL Championship.[8] He remained with the club through the 2011 season.[9]

While competing overseas, Alexander has been with San Francisco, California-based Olympic Club as early as 2009.[10]

International

Junior teams

Alexander represented the United States on the Junior National Team from 2002 to 2003. Alexander, with a number of other Juniors players, was named to the United States "B" team in May 2003 for play in the 2003 US Cup, held at Stanford Cardinal's Avery Aquatic Center.[11]

The US Cup served as a final tune-up for the 2003 FINA Junior Water Polo World Championships held in August in Naples, Italy, which Alexander was named to.[12] He led the team with 12 goals[13] as the US beat Belgium for 11th place.[14]

Senior team

Alexander joined the full United States men's national water polo team in 2005, appearing in the 2005 ASUA World Championships as well as the 2005 FINA World Championships.[15]

He continued with the team and played in the 2007 FINA World Championships and 2008 FINA Men's Water Polo World League[16] in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics in London, but was one of the last cut players and ultimately was named as an alternate.[1][17]

Alexander persevered, setting his sights on the 2012 Summer Olympics. He participated with the senior national team in a number of major competitions including: 2009 FINA Men's Water Polo World League,[18] 2010 FINA Men's Water Polo World League,[19] 2011 FINA Men's Water Polo World League,[20][21] 2009 FINA World Championships,[22][23] 2011 FINA World Championships,[24] 2010 FINA Men's Water Polo World Cup,[19] 2011 Pan American Games,[25] and the 2012 Pan Pacific Water Polo Championships.[26]

Despite being a regular on the national team and participating in qualifying for the 2012 FINA Men's Water Polo World League,[27] Alexander missed out on being named to the Super Final roster. It was a sign of things to come as shortly thereafter he was not named to the 2012 Olympic team[28] and did not appear in any further major competitions for the team.

References

  1. 1 2 Hudnut, Peter (June 25, 2012). "Hudnut: Welcome to my water polo world". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  2. ↑ Faulkner, Barry (December 14, 2000). "Belden Division I Player of the Year". DailyPilot.com. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  3. ↑ "2003 MEN'S VARSITY ALL-AMERICA". Collegiate Water Polo Association. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  4. ↑ "2004 MEN'S VARSITY ALL-AMERICA". Collegiate Water Polo Association. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  5. ↑ Tobolski, Chris (June 30, 2008). "11 players with O.C. ties make Olympic water polo team". The Orange County Register. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  6. ↑ Νέα-Ανακοινώσεις Δ.Σ. (in Greek). NO Patras. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  7. ↑ "2010 NWPL FINALS - VICTORIAN TIGERS AND BRISBANE BARRACUDAS WIN NWPL CROWNS". Water Polo Australia. May 8, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Victorian Tigers Men's Team crowned 2010 National Water Polo League Champions". Water Polo Victoria. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Sporting Pulse player profile". Water Polo Australia. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  10. ↑ "USA Water Polo 2009 Annual Report" (PDF). USA Water Polo. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  11. ↑ U.S. Cup Clinic Enjoys Dizzying Success at Stanford at the Wayback Machine (archived August 11, 2003)
  12. ↑ USA Junior Men Dive Into World Championships on Saturday at the Wayback Machine (archived October 8, 2003)
  13. ↑ Serbia & Montenegro Could Not Be Denied at the Wayback Machine (archived December 5, 2003)
  14. ↑ Serbia & Montenegro could not be denied at the Wayback Machine (archived August 21, 2004)
  15. ↑ "Brian Alexander Playing with Team USA at FINA World Championships". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. July 19, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Former Gaucho Brian Alexander Makes USA Water Polo Roster for FINA World League Super Final". cstv.com. UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. June 12, 2008. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  17. ↑ "USA Water Polo Announces 2008 U.S. Olympic Teams For Men's And Women's Water Polo". USAWaterPolo.org. June 30, 2008. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  18. ↑ "http://www.usawaterpolo.org/sports/m-national/spec-rel/061009aaa.html". USAWaterPolo.org. June 10, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2014. External link in |title= (help)
  19. 1 2 "USA Men's Senior National Team Announces 2010 Roster". USAWaterPolo.org. July 5, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Men's Senior National Team Announces Roster For FINA World League Prelims". USAWaterPolo.org. May 10, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  21. ↑ "USA Men's National Team Announces Roster For FINA World League Super Final". USAWaterPolo.org. June 7, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Anderson gets spot on national team for FINA games". PresidioSports.com. UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. July 2, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  23. ↑ "USA Water Polo Men's World Championships Roster Announced". USAWaterPolo.org. June 30, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  24. ↑ "USA Men's National Team Announces FINA World Championship Roster". USAWaterPolo.org. July 2, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  25. ↑ "USA Men's National Team Announces Pan American Games Roster". USAWaterPolo.org. October 3, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  26. ↑ USA Team Roster at the Wayback Machine (archived June 6, 2012)
  27. ↑ "USA Men Top Brazil 14-1 To Open FINA World League Prelims". USAWaterPolo.org. May 10, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  28. ↑ "USA Water Polo Announces 2012 U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo Team". USAWaterPolo.org. June 25, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2014.

External links


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