WORLD CHAMPIONS!

FINA rejected all protest proposals....now we can celebrate although our win has already been tainted.

we won....I think

USA won the final of World Championships tonight, but Canada is protesting their loss.

Unfortunately, we are now in an emotional state of confusion. We are trying to settle down to sleep in case we do have to replay our game tomorrow at 6. I will post an update as I receive it....10 am tomorrow.


Additionally, Maggie is currently in Holland preparing for Junior World Championships in Siberia. I gave her permission to post to this blog, so she may be doing that soon, hopefully.

Final!

We beat Greece in the Semifinal tonight. Elsie, who played in Greece this past year, lit them up! With 5 goals she led the team and also played almost the whole game as Alison and I both had 2 kickouts.

Friday we play Canada, two North American teams in the finals...pretty cool!

Happy Birthday dad, who busted out the USA flag for the fourth quarter....nice

9 pm - for gold

Spain 6 - USA 9

Playing Greece again in the semis....playing for a medal is always a good place to be!

As of now we are playing the 9 pm game, but that could change if the organizers decide to switch it....which they sometimes do.

Dad filled up the camera, but he almost broke it trying to upload to his computer, hopefully I can talk him through it.....

Pizza Night On the Town

Last night we left the hotel and had dinner had a little restaurant tucked away from the street in between houses. It was a perfect getaway from the monotony of the hotel.

The restaurant’s cars came and picked us up from the Crown Plaza and dropped us off right in front, we felt like celebrities. We drank plain and gassy water as we chose from the pizza and pasta menu. I have been pretty adventurous with my pizzas on this trip and last night I just wanted a margherita pizza, but I also ordered prosciutto and mozzarella for an appetizer, they have so many meats with cheese here….its delicious!


Game Tonight 9 pm vs. Spain
sorry heritage, but I'm about to destroy you

Moving on to Quartfinals

Game Update:

Bracket play
Kazakastan (w)
Russia (l)
Greece (w)

Result: 2nd in bracket so we had to play against 3rd place of another bracket in the knockout round in order to conitnue towards medals.
We played China, a very good team and therefore a tough knockout game match, and we won with a great performance from the whole team. We came out strong, something we had been holding out on until today...and finished strong, always a positive.

Moving forward, we are playing Spain in the quarterfinal on Monday and we'll go from there. Only 3 more games and only 3 more wins.

Sidenote: I gave dad my flipcam to hang out with during his adventures out in Rome, so I'm excited to see what he comes out with....an inside look into the spectator's life.....

A message from our staff

Latest from Universal Sports. They say they will be live webcasting every game from the early rounds, I take that to mean group play. From there one game a day, likely the USA game, and then the semi-finals and finals. According to their tv schedule they will broadcast one quarterfinal game, the two semi-final games, and the two medal games.

Also keep in mind only computer in the United States can view most video on universal sports.

More pics of Rome

More pics of our practice pools, we had a game here against the Italians as a practice game before the tournament. Its on a hill in the middle of a random town.







Us taking strange emotion pictures on our first day in the Worlds venue.

OK here are some pictures:


We've been playing in some nice, almost brand new pools. I liked the one with the wood roof, it smelled so nice in there.

Trevie Fountain coin tossing, 1 for happiness? 2 for something else, 3 for something, I guess 3 coins over your left shoulder is the new fashion, but I have no idea why or what they are for.

And our cool mascots are awesome statues.

Pantheon

The view from our dinner with the Italians after we played the Italians. (and beat them)

Roma Update: Worlds 2009

Day off in Rome/Tour guide for anyone wanting to travel here on your own:

Apparently I like to hang out with the staff. I met in the lobby at 7 am with Alison, team manager, team trainer, USA water polo organizer, and 2 coaches (Brandon & Chaney). We didn’t actually leave until 7:30 because when traveling with the staff there’s always something more they need to do/grab before we leave. Anyway, we took the 98 bus to St. Peter’s Basilica (where the Pope hangs out) in Vatican City and it was essentially empty so early in the morning, which was very calming. It is beautiful inside and I was listening and watching an Asian mass going on as I wandered through. P.S. scene in Angels & Demons where the Priest or Pope burns himself alive….saw that spot in real life.

Next we followed the outside wall to the museums inside where we found the Sistine Chapel. It was already 10:30ish by then and the 2 coaches seemed ready for naps as they dozed off in the angled seats lining the walls of the Chapel. At first when I walked in, it seemed like a pretty large place but not really what I was expecting, but the more time I spent in there, the more details I saw and was awed by. The inside is completely painted with not only biblical scenes, but the walls really look like there are curtains even when you’re standing right in front of them….anyway, it is very cool. Don’t be fooled, there’s a LOT going on in that room.

Then we tried to go up to the top of the Dome of St. Peters, but we weren’t about to wait in line to get in there again….so we moved on to bus 98 again then switched to the 571 heading towards the Coliseum. By this point we were pretty tired and hungry and decided not to meet up with some of the girls at the Spanish steps because we needed lunch and wanted to get in all the sites we wanted to see. But we passed this huge white building and it seemed there were some fancy steps and we all thought they were THE SPANISH STEPS….as we frantically were jumping off the bus a woman called us back in and said no, those are not Spanish steps that is the cake….the building is called the wedding cake because it is white and huge and has statues…..strange, but true.

We made it to the Coliseum but the long line sent us towards the ancient Rome ruins where we could get into the Coliseum for free. This was cool. We saw buildings 20 centuries old that were partly still standing….we traded in the market, held court, and found ancient air conditioning in a dark room with a fountain. We continued on in the million degree heat towards the Coliseum where we staged a fight on the bottom level. That place is huge and they are beginning to reconstruct the sitting areas that were once there….but the stairs, think Great Wall! Yikes-o-rama

We were tired, but still wanted to make it to the touristy Trevie Fountain and eat delicious Gelato, which I did, then go to the Pantheon. We learned from our tour guide, coach Chaney (with his tour book), that it is really old and I think was the tallest free standing dome until the Superdome or some big football stadium was built somewhere….very specific. But also he told us that its diameter and its height are the same size….math people, check it out.

Lastly, we ended our day in Piaza Rumano for some pizza and people watching. One guitar man played an amazing acoustic rendition of Stairway to Heaven pretty sweet ending to a long, exhausting, yet wonderful day out.

Games start tomorrow…..Kazakstan, Russia, Greece

Check USAWATERPOLO.com for updates

Sparks Game

Last night we were invited to the LA Sparks (WNBA) game to be honored at halftime. 6 of us were able to come and we made a GREAT night of it. The fans were awesome....they were so stoked that we had shown up with our matching jackets AND medals. When Sparky escorted us out onto the court, the fans started chanting U-S-A so loudly...It was like we were playing a game in the arena! Afterward, people were giving us high fives and taking pics with us all over the place. Some had never actually seen water polo, but were so in awe of the Olympics that they couldn't help talking to us to learn more about what we do.

Just lots of athletes and fans who LOVE sports and competition! It was a very very very cool experience and I'm so happy I was able to go. Not to mention that the game was extremely fun!

Next order of business, heading home to see my friends and family who woke up at odd hours to watch our games and created so much excitement for us and the Olympics!

Oprah Show

The Olympic show taping will be the Season Premier airing on

Monday 09-08-08

On the one month anniversary of the Opening Ceremonies

The Olympic Village

My BNU credential....rather than athlete, it had OLYMPIAN written on it, which was VERY exciting!












We had lots and lots of bags.....











My Roomie, Petie in our blank room....








Look, wind & solar power!




















Surfing on the dangerously spaced rocks across the pond on the way to FOOD!




















PR!






This is not even a 1/4 of the Dining Hall.

Pics from Processing.........

More to come......

Home Finally

After a long travel day, we finally made it back to Seal Beach! Neighbor Erik came to pick us up and even had a DELICIOUS carrot cake waiting for us with Neighbor Paul. It felt so good to walk into our little apartment, that smelled like the beach (ish) and felt so comfortable. I went to bed around 1 and woke up at 6 wooooooo! Yay, I love coming home from weird time zones....I don't have anything that I have to do, so I guess it doesn't matter.

So I know you're all curious what happens post-competition. Athletes go crazy! After years of anticipation and preparation, we all needed to decompress. There was excitement at the beginning to start competing and a different excitement at the end to meet other athletes, go to different venues, and celebrate with your team.

The three days we had to be in Beijing after the final were an important part of the Olympics for me. I loved being able to chill and take in everything from the previous weeks. Of course the fun continued at night... The USA house was the meeting place with free drinks and different medalists celebrating every night. From there we walked to the bar street...right at Hooters, to get to Shooters....with those directions we somehow found our way. There were lots of bars, dancing at the China Doll and people from all over the world gathering in the streets meeting each other and making the world just that much smaller. As much time as we spent wandering throughout Beijing (day and night), I still am confused by that humongous city.

Oh and some of you fans may be interested to know that some of my teammates and I became VIP (not that we aren't already, the Chinese just didn't know) because we were chillin with Ronaldinho and teammates. Just a few of the cool people we met in China throughout the trip!

Coming soon:
*LOOK OUT FOR PICS THAT I COULDN'T POST DURING.....The Olympics revealed!
*Oprah brings us to the show
*Going to the White House

Gold is great, but very proud of my SILVER!!!

An experience to remember for the rest of my life, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I'll have time to elaborate later (right now my family is distracting me with their Christmas in China fiesta...going through their bags and bags of Olympic stuff!) 

I just wanted to say thank you for all the emails and posts, I LOVE hearing from you guys, it makes this all so much more special. Especially reading what you were doing during the games, who you were with, who was cheering for us.....bowling alley in Lincoln, Nebraska-AWESOME! 

We have a couple more days here to experience the Olympics without the fun of my own competition, which I will enjoy fully...but then, I can't wait to come home and share with you all my new fashion statement.....!

Going for GOLD

I've heard from so many people and my family has gotten tons of calls and emails! Thank you for all the support, it is amazing! We have cheerers around the world from Danville, Puerto Rico, Istanbul....and of course our great fans here in China!

Put on your USA gear and get out your USA flags because we're GOING FOR IT!

Questions answered...

Most exciting....I think our first game against China was the most exciting event so far. Opening Ceremonies was incredible and moving into the village was an eye-opening experience, but the Olympics didn't really begin until that first game. Walking out to hear the USA/CHINA crowd battling as much as we were battling in the water was pretty cool.

More recently, though, due to the complexities of bracket points, we beat Russia and still didn't know if we were 1st or 2nd in our bracket. So we all watched the Italy-China game in our apartment...we beat China by 1 and Italy ended up winning by 1, but because we scored more goals in our game (USA 12- CHINA 11) we came out first, which means we are playing for a medal! That was extremely exciting to realize last night as can be seen in this pic. (Not that we weren't prepared to play a knock out game...Its nice to already be in that semi!)

Most challenging...It is definitely a challenge to balance your focus here. There are so many events going on all the time with athletes all over the place, it is always exciting in the village. There are athletes that thrive at the Olympics and athletes that cannot handle the pressure/excitement. I'm glad we've had a lot of preparation with our coaches and sports psych, Peter, I feel that this team is handling the Olympics like pros.

"Off days"...other events...While it is important to stay focused on what we want to accomplish, as with anything, it is just as important to maintain a sense of normalcy. Last night after the game, we were able to have dinner with our friends & family! It was great to sit with them and hear their experiences from China for longer than the short time after games we see them.

Off days aren't actually off days. The days in between competitions are spent preparing for the next game. We actually spend most of the day at BNU where we practice, eat, rest, and get treatment. So so far haven't been going to any other events, just watching EVERY sport on TV, live. That is really fun, especially when other athletes are around watching, cheering for teammates and friends...just a fun atmosphere.

pic (post dinner with the fams)


Mentors...All the returning Olympians have acted as guides for us newcomers. They've been here before and know what it takes to win at the Olympics. Natalie Golda, Heather Petri, and our captain Brenda Villa can pump us up or calm us down depending on the situation....so far its worked out pretty well.

As far as my position goes, we defenders tend to stick together and talk a lot about centers, defense, strategies....it helps to have teammates to talk situations out with.

Sleeping....I've actually been fairly healthy and getting in some good sleep. We've been here long enough to adjust to the crazy time difference, the food is good, and at BNU the food is stellar so we are actually doing well in that spectrum.

Any Questions?

In the next 24 hours I want to open up this blog to everyone…feel free to post comments on this post with whatever questions you would like to ask….about

Olympics

water polo

my team

the village

and I’ll do my best to answer them all in my next post!

Clarissa & Marco

A little team tradition (or my tradition that I forced upon the team) .....

On my first trip in the summer of 2006 (we circumnavigated the world…Hungary, Italy, China) I created Clarissa….I was the alternate for the World Cup in Tianjin, China and I didn’t have much to do and still wanted to do what I could for the team. So I pondered for HOURS upon HOURS about what I could do for them and then it hit me…ok so this is not actually how it happened, really I had crayons and paper and thought I could be of use by making a paper person so that we could easily see the outfits we were wearing day to day. Describing the red T-shirt with stars verses the red T-shirt with stars and stripes, gets a little silly.

So I created a paper girl with outfits that m

atched our own and since then, the tradition has continued. Olympic Clarissa is extra fancy with her own closet full of gear AND lamination, key to the reusability of tape for her clothing. Recently, an addition has been made so that Clarissa could have a friend…and Marco was born. Kyle has really taken a liking to Mr. Marco, who was made for the coaches in the Canary Islands (from lunch conversations, it was known that they needed some help).

Here we have Clarissa and Marco ready for their first game!