May 17, 2001
Stanford, Ca - Veteran Stanford head water polo coach Dante Dettamanti sat back in his chair, smiled and then pondered all the fond memories of coaching at Stanford University.
As he enters his 25th and final year as the Cardinal head coach in the Fall of 2001, Dettamanti remembers his first year at Stanford in 1977 when he took over the reins of the Cardinal water polo program. deGuerre Pool had just opened three years earlier, and at the time the complex was a 'start of the art' aquatics facility. There was, however, one small problem.
"Back in the 1960's and 1970's, water polo at the collegiate level was played in a 25-yard pool. When deGuerre Pool was designed, they decided to play water polo and host swim meets adjacent to the diving area. However, after the pool was built between the stadium seats, water polo competition was then switched to a 30-meter competition area, which then made the 25-yard pool for water polo competition too small. We then had to play our games in the recreation pool where we brought in portable bleachers, and people had to sit on the grass."
Stanford did however play one game in the old 25-yard pool, a game between Moscow State University of Russia and Stanford. The year was 1974, the game was played in a pouring rainstorm with two big, physical teams playing in a tiny pool.
During its many years of use, deGuerre Pool weathered the expansion of Stanford's rise in aquatic sports, from men's and women's water polo, men's and women's swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, recreational swimming, student classes, the masters program, etc.
The Avery Family noticed that something needed to be done, and through their hard work, Stanford now has a new home, the Avery Aquatic Center, one of the finest outdoor swimming, diving and water polo facilities in the United States and perhaps the world. The complex includes the Belardi Pool, Baker Pool, Maas Diving Center, and the Avery Stadium Pool.
"What a fabulous aquatic complex," says Dettamanti, who regards the Avery Aquatic Center as the best outdoor complex in the United States. "What a wonderful place for the athletes, coaches and the fans. We now have lights for nighttime use of the pool, and the stadium cover to protect the fans from sun and rain is great. Throughout the years, much planning and hard work has been done, and we now have an aquatics complex that is just fantastic."
The Avery Aquatic Center will officially be unveiled on Saturday, May 19, 2001, when Stanford University presents an evening of exciting aquatic events.
An evening of exhibitions by the nationally-ranked Stanford's swimming and diving teams, synchronized swimming team, and an exhibition game between the Stanford men's water polo club team and the United States National Team will take place at the recently built and remodeled Avery Aquatic Center. The new Stanford aquatic complex can seat 2,500 spectators in an area designed to host all of Stanford's swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized swimming events.
The gates will open at 6 p.m., with the first 1,000 fans receiving a free commemorative Nike water bottle. The evening's festivities will include recognition of many of Stanford Olympians, and an autograph session following the United States vs Stanford water polo match at 7 p.m. The Stanford club team will feature Tony Azevedo, a member of the 2000 United States Olympic Team (the only high school player on the 2000 U.S. Olympic team), Stanford All-American goalkeeper Nick Ellis, and several other Cardinal stars including Jeff Nesmith and Jaison Robinson (both are training with the U.S. National team). The Stanford club team will be led by veteran head coach Dante Dettamanti, who will be entering his 25th and final season in 2001 as water polo coach at Stanford.
The U.S. National Team will feature five players who competed on the Olympic team in Sydney. They include one of Stanford's all-time great players, two-time Olympian Wolf Wigo, two-time NCAA Player of the Year Sean Kern, and Brad Schumacher. The U.S. National team is coached by newly-appointed Ratko Rudic. After winning gold and silver medals as a member of the Yugoslavian Olympic team, Rudic coached his nation to Olympic titles in 1984 and 1988, edging the United States both times. After the 1988 Games, Rudic took the reins of the Italian National Team, bringing his golden touch to Italy in the 1992 Olympic Games and silver in 1996.
Following the exhibition game against Stanford, the United States team will travel to Italy and Greece for various tournaments.
Adults will be admitted for $10, with student and senior prices at $6. For additional information, call 800-STANFORD.
Dettamanti will be coaching the Stanford club team, and as he begins his final year of coaching at Stanford, he remembers all the great water polo games held at deGuerre Pool. "I'll always remembers all the great games against California, USC and UCLA just before the football games. During the early years of deGuerre Pool, the pool was surrounded by grassy fields and were used for tailgating before the football games. People would jam into the pool area to watch some great water polo games."
Dettamanti's last regular season game as head water polo coach will be on Nov. 17, 2001 against California.
"I'm not going to look ahead to that game just yet," laughs Dettamanti. "Don't forget, we're hosting the NCAA's in 2001. I would like that to be my last game at Stanford, the championship game for the NCAA title."