Water Polo Teams Win Pan Am Junior Titles

The U.S. men’s and women’s junior national water polo teams both defeated Canada Friday to win gold medals at the Pan American Championships in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.

The men’s team won, 8-6. With the score tied, 6-6, at the end of the third quarter, Pat Logan, a recent graduate of Foothill High, scored the go-ahead goal and Adrian Rawn of Navy scored to seal the victory.

Kevin Foster from Princeton was named the tournament MVP, as he surpassed Tony Azevedo’s tournament scoring record of 23 goals. Ian Elliott, a junior at Foothill, and Peter Sabbatini of Annapolis, Md., were named goalkeeping co-MVPs.

Other local athletes playing under Coach Jim Brumm of Foothill were Garrett Gentry (Corona del Mar High), Nick Pacelli (Villa Park High, UCLA) and Ted Peck (University High).

The women’s team beat the Canadians, 10-5, for the championship. Stanford’s Julie Gardner led the United States with three goals. Ashley Stachowski, formerly of Capistrano Valley High, scored two goals and had three steals.

The victories qualify both teams for next year’s world championships in Turkey.