Baker Gets Water Polo Job

Guy Baker, who engineered a quick rise by the U.S. women’s water polo team on the international sports scene, will try to achieve similar success with the U.S. men’s squad.

Baker, the U.S. women’s coach since 1998 and a late entry into the field of candidates to succeed Ratko Rudic as the men’s coach, on Wednesday was selected for the job over Ricardo Azevedo, men’s national team assistant and Long Beach State head men’s and women’s coach.

Rudic left the U.S. program last month to become coach of Croatia’s men’s national team.

“I think we can compete internationally with the men. I’ll tell you in a couple of years if I still think that’s true,” said Baker, who applied for the men’s job last week. “But I think the structure is basically there.”

The U.S. men failed to advance out of pool play and finished seventh in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. They lost to Italy in the fifth-place game in Sydney in 2000.

Baker, 43, guided the U.S. women’s team to the gold medal in the 2003 World Championships.

The women’s team won silver and bronze at the last two Olympics.

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-- Lauren Peterson