Dries, Hudnut Named USA Water Polo Hall of Fame Inductees

IRVINE, Calif. – Stanford’s water polo programs are well represented among the 2026 USA Water Polo Hall of Fame class, as Annika Dries and Peter Hudnut were announced as inductees on Monday afternoon.

The organization’s 42nd class includes four honorees representing athletic and coaching excellence from the collegiate and club ranks up to the world stage at the Olympic Games.

The Hall of Fame induction luncheon is scheduled for June 19 at 11 a.m. at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Brea North Orange County in Brea, California.

One of the most formidable centers in US women's water polo history, Dries claimed a CIF Southern Section title, a FINA World Cup gold medal, a Pan American Games gold medal, two NCAA Championship titles, and – at age 20 – helped the US capture its first Olympic water polo gold medal in history at the 2012 Games in London.

Dries’ journey began in Orange County, where she joined a junior lifeguard program in her hometown of Laguna Beach. From there, she competed at the club level for SET Water Polo while starring at Laguna Beach High School in both swimming and water polo. While she was playing for the Breakers, one of the smallest high schools in Orange County became the dominant program in the area. Around the same time, Dries made her international debut at the 2006 Junior Pan Ams in Montreal. After Dries graduated from high school, she excelled as a member of the women's senior national team, earning 2010 World Cup gold in New Zealand, 2011 Pan American Games gold in Mexico, and finally the 2012 Olympic crown in London.

While at Stanford, Dries served as team captain, won two NCAA Championships (2011, 2014), was twice named NCAA MVP (2011, 2014) and twice earned the Peter J. Cutino Award (2011, 2014) as the nation's best collegiate player. A four-time All-American (2010-11, 2013-14) who ranks 10th in school history in career goals, Dries was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.

After her playing days, Dries, now 34, transferred her drive to the medical field. She earned her M.D. from Stanford and is currently a resident in internal medicine at UCLA Health. Beyond clinical practice, Dries has conducted extensive research in sports cardiology and cardiovascular genetics. She also mentors student-athletes as well as students interested in medicine, and serves as an Olympic ambassador for Swim Across America which hosts open-water swims across the San Francisco Bay to raise funds for cancer research. 
 
Hudnut, a two-time Olympian and 2008 silver medalist, became a Team USA mainstay for a decade, highlighted by his resiliency and perseverance to overcome injuries and adversity.

Born in Washington, D.C., Hudnut eventually settled in Los Angeles with his family. In third grade, Hudnut dreamed of being an Olympian, but he didn't know in which sport. Hudnut discovered water polo in seventh grade at Harvard-Westlake School, where he was coached by Rich Corso and later became a three-time All-American, CIF runner-up, and made the US junior national team as a high school senior.

While at Stanford, Hudnut helped the Cardinal win two NCAA Championships (2001-02), was a three-time All-American (2000-02) and earned all-conference honors on two occasions (2001-02). Along the way, his Olympic dream started to take shape, but a broken vertebra and back surgery in the summer of 2003 impeded his progress. Despite doing rehab at the side of the pool during every US team practice, he was named an alternate for the 2004 Athens Olympic team.

Undaunted, Hudnut returned and helped the US win gold at the 2007 Pan American Games to secure the team a berth at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In China, Hudnut was part of an epic turnaround that saw the ninth-ranked United States squad become silver medalists in less than a year. With two sets of fresh stitches in his face, Hudnut celebrated the US men's first Olympic medal in 20 years. Hudnut briefly retired after Beijing to start graduate school but returned to the pool in 2011 and competed in his second Olympics in London in 2012.

Outside of Team USA, Hudnut, now 46, also competed professionally for Barceloneta (Spain) and Lazio (Rome) and made domestic appearances for the Los Angeles Water Polo Club and the New York Athletic Club.