Azevedo Youngest on U.S. Team

Tony Azevedo of Long Beach became the youngest Olympian on the U.S. men’s water polo team since 1972 when Coach John Vargas announced the 13-member team for the Sydney Games on Wednesday.

Azevedo, 18, who led Long Beach Wilson High to four consecutive Southern Section Division I championships, joins a mostly veteran group of players that includes six holdovers from a U.S. team that placed seventh in the 1996 Atlanta Games.

There are eight Southern Californians on the roster, including Chris Oeding of Newport Beach, the team captain. The others are Azevedo, Ryan Bailey, Kyle Kopp and Robert Lynn, all from Long Beach, Dan Hackett of Irvine, Gavin Arroyo of Orange and Chi Kredell of Seal Beach.

Vargas, who played on the U.S. team in 1992 and was an assistant in ‘96, is the water polo coach at Corona del Mar High.