Brian Alexander (water polo)

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.

Brian Alexander
Personal information
Nickname(s)Thor[1]
NationalityAmerican
Born (1983-05-03) May 3, 1983
Santa Ana, California,
United States
Alma materUC Santa Barbara
Years active2004–2012
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight220 lb (100 kg)
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportMen's water polo
PositionField
University teamUC Santa Barbara men's water polo
Club
Turned pro2005
Medal record
Men’s Water Polo
Representing the  United States
Pan American Games
2011 Guadalajara Men's Water Polo
Updated on 20:31, 17 September 2014 (UTC).

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]

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. 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. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  4. "2004 MEN'S VARSITY ALL-AMERICA". Collegiate Water Polo Association. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. 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. Archived from the original on August 18, 2012. 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". Archived from the original on 2003-08-11. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  12. "USA Junior Men Dive Into World Championships on Saturday". Archived from the original on 2003-10-08. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  13. "Serbia & Montenegro Could Not Be Denied". Archived from the original on 2003-12-05. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  14. "Serbia & Montenegro could not be denied". Archived from the original on 2004-08-21. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  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. "www.usawaterpolo.org/sports/m-national/spec-rel/061009aaa.html". USAWaterPolo.org. June 10, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  19. "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". Archived from the original on 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  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.
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