Save UMD Water Polo

ENDANGERED TERRAPINS: Maryland ignores outside noise

jaclyn.corr — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 23:23:44 +0000

Program on the chopping block due to budget cuts

April 12, 2012, Trevor Freeman, NCAA.com

At the start of the season, Maryland’s water polo team was officially placed on life support as the Terrapins have to reach a fund-raising goal in order to save their program. Despite the potential black cloud looming, Maryland has roared out of the gate to the highest ranking in the program’s history.

The Terrapins are led by Carl Salyer, who has been the head coach since 2004. He has guided Maryland to two third-place finishes at Eastern Championships, two CWPA Southern Division Tournament titles and an outright win of the CWPA South last spring.

Now he faces his toughest challenge yet, leading the effort to save Maryland’s water polo team.

Your program had a difficult start to the season outside the pool with news that Maryland may be cutting water polo. Despite that, the Terps got off to an incredible start that includes achieving your highest ever national ranking. How does the team do it?

Salyer: It has been a lot of fun. The strong start is because of our team’s focus. When we heard the news about the possible dropping of our program, I told the team that we can live in the problem or live in the solution. They are living in the solution and are playing great as a team. They are very coachable and could not have responded better. They are focused in both the pool and classroom. I thank them for letting me be associated with them.

How has the fundraising been going and how can water polo fans help?

Salyer: It has been a little slow which is frustrating. We have only raised $25,000. We need to get the water polo community more aware and energized. One thing we have been working on with our administration is extending our timeline so that we can come up with a smaller number by June 30. I think people’s biggest fear is that they will donate money and that money will go elsewhere. That will not happen. All money will be returned if the program is dropped.

We need donations to come from a broad base of support. We need to show the community supports us, before we can get access to some of the big money people. Please follow us on Twitter (@MarylandH2OPolo) and Facebook (SAVE UMD WATER POLO) and you can donate at or by texting UMDWP to 64274.

Shelby Reyes is off to a great start to the season. What makes her such a special player?

Salyer: I know we talked about her earlier this year and I said it then. Shelby is a gamer. She lives and breathes water polo. Against Pacific on Saturday, Shelby started off shaky but then really righted the ship. We went on a 6-1 run and she was a huge part of it. Even when she does not have her “A” game she figures out how to get in the game. The highest compliment I can give is calling someone a gamer. Shelby is one of our team captains, and both of them are showing great leadership.

Your team is getting great production from Allison Campbell, Zoe Respondek, Simone Lewis and Katie Ermokova. A strength is your team’s balance. What other strengths does your team display?

Salyer: Our strength is that we play great team water polo. These kids have been great. Zoe and Campbell have been great at getting steals. They have outstanding communication in the pool. Against Santa Clara, every girl on the team but one had at least one steal. It goes back to the great team effect. Simone is having a breakout year both offensively and defensively. Katie is unstoppable when she is on. She has a real rocket arm and has really matured this year.

Beyond that, the team has really done a great job of finding their roles; Christine Goetsch and Rebecca Gerrity are doing a great job at two-meter defense. Molly Ruth and Danielle Robinson have been tremendous off the bench and are doing whatever has been asked of them at both ends of the pool. Carly Hoshko and Nicole Tobin are really testing teams at the center position and are doing a great job at drawing ejections and scoring goals.

Water Polo Gets New Financial Targets

jaclyn.corr — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:25:09 +0000

Part of ongoing Save Our Sports campaign

April 7, 2012

COLLEGE PARK, Md. The University of Maryland athletics department announced Friday a new fund-raising plan for the Save Our Sports campaign for women’s water polo.

Through collaborative efforts with supporters of the water polo program, adjusted fund-raising goals have been set. The adjusted plan includes benchmarks that would need to be met in order to extend

The fund-raising timeline will be extended to Dec. 31, 2012 to raise $2,102,683, provided cash gifts are deposited in the University of Maryland, College Park Foundation account totaling $1,051,341 by June 30, 2012.

Further, the eight-year total goal of $4,205,366 would be due by Dec. 31, 2013. The goal to establish the full endowment necessary to ensure the program’s long-term sustainability remains in place. The full endowment amount of $13.1 million will be due by June 2020.

The department has been working with each sport to help identify and cultivate donors and increase outreach efforts. Other efforts to date have included:

Pledge of $1 million from the M Club in support of the campaign;
Creation of a special website for online fundraising, information sharing and progress tracking;
Launched a “Text to Donate” campaign for each sport;
Contacted national and affiliated organizations for each sport to solicit publicity and financial support;
Met individually with prospects for each sport to solicit donations;
Conducted phone-a-thons with student-athletes reaching out to alumni & friends;
Solicited alumni and friends of each sport through email and direct mail campaigns.

“It’s my hope that this new plan provides us with the best possible opportunity for success, while adhering to the fiscal principles that were outlined by the President’s Commission on Athletics,” said director of athletics Kevin Anderson.”Maryland Athletics is, and must remain, a self-supporting unity, responsible for covering expenses with athletics-related revenues,” said Anderson. “Our commitment to our student-athletes, staff and our fans is to continue to pursue excellence in everything we do.”

If the campaign is unsuccessful and the team is eliminated, all affected student-athletes will retain their scholarships through to graduation and all coaching contracts will be honored. For those student-athletes who wish to transfer, all due assistance will be provided.

- Terps -

DIVISION TITLE ON THE LINE THIS WEEKEND

jaclyn.corr — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 22:41:34 +0000

Make sure you wear your SAVE UMD WATERPOLO T-SHIRT in preparation for THIS SATURDAY, April 7th, when your #11 ranked TERPS (15-4, 4-0) play #13 UMichigan to claim 1st in the CWPA Western Division. Not only is this our last home game, but it is our SENIOR GAME!! Seniors Christine Goetsch, Shelby Reyes, and Carly Hoshko will be honored at the start of the match.

Come LOUD, PROUD, and ready to PROTECT THIS HOUSE!!

WHERE: Eppley Recreation Center
WHEN: Saturday, 1:00 PM
Admission is FREE , Park in Lot 2, Lot 1, or Stadium Drive Garage
For those not able to attend, the Maryland games will be streamed live on Terps TV free of charge

MAKE A DONATION TODAY!

jaclyn.corr — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 19:32:46 +0000

In order to Save Water Polo, a steering group of alumni, parents and friends is workingwithathletic department staff to raise $4,205,366 in cash donations by JUNE 30, 2012.

You can help us to avoid program elimination for Maryland W

ater Polo by making a donation now, either online or by mail or fax. No donation is too large or too small.

Should we not be able to save our sport, donations will either be re-designated or refunded, depending on the date of donation. Please see the Donor FAQ or Gift Agreement for details.

No. 20 Maryland Opens Season in Style!

jaclyn.corr — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:05:23 +0000

Maryland Wins Three at Terrapin Invitational!

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Allison Campbell scored three goals to help lift the Maryland water polo team to a 10-2 victory over Wagner Sunday afternoon in the final game of the two-day Terrapin Invitational.

The 20th-ranked Terrapins (3-1), who rebounded from an early-morning 8-4 loss to No. 8 San Diego State, also got two goals each from Allie Hill, Nicole Tobin and Molly Ruth.

“It was a good way to end the weekend,” Maryland head coach Carl Salyer said. “We finished with a lot of energy. We controlled the game from the outset.”

Wagner (0-3), which was held scoreless for over a 27:00 stretch in the game, got both of its goals from Chelsea Beck.

Campbell gave the Terps a first-quarter lead they never relinquished.

After Wagner knotted the game at 1-all on an exclusion goal from Beck, Campbell scored twice in the final 2:00 of the period.

The Terps then took advantage of Wagner exclusions as their next four goals came with the man advantage.

Maryland built a 7-1 lead through three quarters and cruised to its third victory at the five-team tournament which also featured Marist and UC San Diego.

Wagner, meanwhile, had 12 opportunities with the extra attacker, but the Seahawks were able to convert only one of them.

“We got a good defensive effort which helped feed our offense,” Salyer said.

Despite a pair of goals by sophomore Katie Ermakova, Maryland was not able to generate enough offense against San Diego State which was making its first-ever trip to Maryland.

Meghan Poland scored all of her game-high four goals in the first half and the Aztecs had a strong overall performance in the final two periods limiting the Terps to just one goal.

Simone Lewis scored an exclusion goal for the Terps at the 1:41 mark of the third quarter to cut the deficit to 5-4, but San Diego State (3-0) answered with a pair of strikes in the final 1:13 of the period.

Maryland never led, but knotted the game three times in the first half. Ermakova’s goal with 3:27 left in the second quarter tied the contest at 3-all. However, the Aztecs got the go-ahead tally 21 seconds later when Poland scored for the fourth time.

“We played with them and stayed close for most of the game,” Salyer said of the Aztecs. “We just had a couple breakdowns. We made them earn everything. It was a good team effort and it was good to have those San Diego teams here.”

San Diego State won all three of its games in the two-day, five-team event. Maryland knocked Marist (15-7) and No. 14 UC San Diego (14-6) on Saturday and ended the weekend 3-1.

UC San Diego rebounded from its loss to Maryland and posted a 15-10 victory over Marist in the second of three games Sunday.

Terrapin Invitational – Day Two Results

Sunday, Jan. 29
Eppley Recreation Center

No. 8 San Diego State 8, No. 20 Maryland 4

		1st	2nd	3rd	4th	F
Maryland (2-1)	2	1	1	0	4
SDSU (3-0)	2	2	3	1	8

Maryland Goals: Ermakova 2, Lewis, Campbell
SDSU Goals: Poland 4, Ford, Pezzolla, Carballo, Long
Maryland Saves: Reyes 5
SDSU Saves: Campoli 4

No. 14 UC San Diego 15, Marist 10

		1st	2nd	3rd	4th	F
UCSD (3-1)	5	5	1	4	15
Marist (0-3)	3	4	1	2	10

UC San Diego Goals: Lizotte 8, Bartow 2, Tran 2, Bates 2, Daniels
Marist Goals: Desaulniers 4, Rinker 2, Puccino, Hathoway, Levien, Maynes
UC San Diego Saves: Taylor 8
Marist Saves: Humphries 4, Thomas 7

No. 20 Maryland 10, Wagner 2

		1st	2nd	3rd	4th	F
Maryland (3-1)	3	1	3	3	10
Wagner (0-3)	1	0	0	1	2

Maryland Goals: Campbell 3, Tobin 2, Ruth 2, Hill 2, Ermakova
Wagner Goals: Beck 2
Maryland Saves: Stein 2, Reeves
Wagner Saves: Karbach 7

TERP playing for Club Esportiu Mediterrani in Barcelona, Spain.

jaclyn.corr — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:39:21 +0000

Elizabeth Hopkins (middle) is playing for Club Esportiu Mediterrani in Barcelona, Spain.

One of Maryland’s all-time great water players has continued her career at the professional level.

Elizabeth Hopkins, who as a senior in 2009 helped lead the Terps to a third-place finish at the CWPA Eastern Championship, is currently playing for Club Esportiu Mediterrani in Barcelona, Spain.

Hopkins is the Terps’ leader in career points (261) and ranks second in both goals (189) and assists (72).

A native of Coronado, Calif., Hopkins was a two-time first team All-CWPA Southern Division selection (2008-09). She recently took time out of her busy schedule to write about time her experiences since leaving College Park.

READ “Life after Maryland” by Elizabeth Hopkins

Terps No. 20 in Preseason Poll

jaclyn.corr — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:30:26 +0000

Allison Campbell led the Terps with 89 points last season.

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. - The Maryland Terrapins were ranked No. 20 in the CWPA preseason national poll which was released Wednesday, January 5th.

With five of seven starters returning from last year’s squad, Maryland, under eighth-year head coach Carl Salyer, hopes to improve on last year’s showing.

Seniors and co-captains Shelby Reyes and Christine Goetsch headline the returning starters. They are joined by juniors Allison Campbell and Simone Lewis, as well as sophomore Katie Ermakova.

Maryland opens the season on Jan. 28 with the Terrapin Invitational (full article with schedule found here)

A Call To Arms If You Will

jaclyn.corr — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:25:48 +0000

December 15, 2011, You always wish to be writing under better circumstances. Celebrating victories. Previewing dark horses. Talking up superstars. This month’s piece is more a public service announcement. A call to arms if you will. In this article, we are going to shine a light on what is happening at Maryland for the water polo community in the hopes that perhaps what happened at UC-Davis can happen on the East Coast as well. The Terrapins are coming off their best season ever as they finished with a national ranking of seventeen and were third place at Easterns in 2010. That great performance has since been put on the backburner as their program is firmly on the chopping block, the details of which will be described below. INTERVIEW WITH UMD COACH CARL SALYER.

Why big universities need small sports

jaclyn.corr — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:06:10 +0000

When we spend tens of thousands of dollars to send our kids off to college, we strike a deal with the school. First, the university provides an education that prepares our children for work and to function in society. Second, and nearly as important, it provides a bridge from the sheltered world of our homes to the harsher one our kids soon will inhabit. For those who qualify, at Maryland’s Division I level or anywhere else in college athletics, sports are an irreplaceable part of that transition. Full article here

Kick-off event to Save UMD Water Polo a success!

jaclyn.corr — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 21:26:55 +0000

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland water team held ‘Tournament For The Terps’ on Dec. 3-4, a fund raiser to help Save Maryland Water Polo.

The eight-team club tournament consisted of both men and women (18 and over). There were also four honorary teams which did not compete in the tournament, but had their entry fee a donation towards the Save Maryland Water Polo campaign. In addition to tournament games, there was also a clinic, raffle, silent auction, and two enter to win contests (5-Alive and Fastest Shot). View full article with complete results from the tournament.