WATER POLO : Team USA Victory Is Hard-Fought

The theme from “Rocky” was playing over the public address system and Gavin Arroyo stood poolside with a bag of ice on his nose. The trickle of blood from his nose would have made any cinematographer proud.

The United States had just defeated Brazil, 9-7, in the first round of the Junior Water Polo World Championships at Corona del Mar High School Saturday. Arroyo had a goal and an assist and guarded the two-meter position.

The game was marred by both teams’ cheap shots, and ultimately the teams squared off to fight in the pool after the game ended. The fight started with Craig Kredell shouting at Brazil’s Luciano Hamuche. Both benches jumped into the water but the fight was broken up after a few moments.

“We expected it to be physical but not that bad,” Arroyo said. “I was swimming down the first time we had the ball and I got hit in the face. You might expect it more after you get in the game a little, but on the first time?”

That throbbing feeling may have had Arroyo, a sophomore at California and a graduate of Villa Park, thinking about the good old days when he was a swimmer first and a water polo player second.

At Villa Park, Arroyo was The Times Orange County swimmer of the year in 1990. He holds the Southern Section record for the 100-yard freestyle with a mark of 45.30 seconds.

He had a good thing going. No need to get hit in the face, right? So why did he decide to put more of an emphasis on water polo?

“It’s more social,” Arroyo said.

“About my junior year is when I started being more into water polo. It’s more fun.”

By the end of his senior year, Arroyo was an accomplished water polo player and was named the Century League’s Most Valuable Player in 1989. At Cal, he is on a water polo scholarship and also swims for the school.

With such a strong background in sprint swimming, and a 6-4 and 178-pound build, it is surprising that Arroyo plays at two-meter defender--possibly the most physical position in the pool.

“I started playing it (two-meter defender) as a junior when we had two seniors who were really good scorers so I just have played it ever since,” he said.

Arroyo’s goal, with five minutes 42 seconds left in the second quarter, gave the United States a 4-1 lead. The United States had a six-on-five advantage and Arroyo fired the ball in from the left wing, which is where he likes to be.

“Anywhere close. The wings are close.” Arroyo said, smiling. “Actually, I play wherever we end up in that situation, with the bigger guys playing the posts. We like to have Chris (Oeding) on the outside because he’s got a great arm.”

Oeding scored three goals against Brazil Saturday.

On a critical series at the end of the game, Arroyo’s pass to Thorpe Logemann gave the United States a 9-7 advantage with 12 seconds left to play. To seal the victory, Arroyo’s two-meter defense on Paul Ross allowed the United States to steal the ball with six seconds left and run out the clock.

Notes

In games at Newport Harbor: Spain defeated Bulgaria, 14-9, and Australia defeated New Zealand, 12-7; at Corona del Mar: Hungary defeated Mexico, 24-0; at Cal State Long Beach: Yugoslavia defeated Japan, 23-5, and Puerto Rico defeated Canada, 10-9; at Heritage Park: Cuba defeated China, 11-9, and Czechoslovakia and Italy tied, 11-11.