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2009 Michigan Water Polo Team

Cap #
Name
Position
Height
Weight
Hometown
Major
11
Levi Barry 2m/Utility
6'0"
180
Portage, MI Hair Growth Development
17
Dan Basile Driver
6'0"
185
Grosse Pointe, MI Industrial Operations Engineering
Mike Czerwinski Utility
6'1"
180
Dearborn, MI Biomedical Engineering
14
Robbie Gomez Driver
6'1"
160
Troy, MI Business
Jack Hessburg Driver
6'5"
170
Grosse Pointe Park, MI Biomedical Engineering
16
David Hiemstra Utility
6'1"
175
Ann Arbor, MI Mechanical Engineering
Ben "Tay" Hubbard Utility
6'6"
175
Ann Arbor, MI Auto Repar
Nick Inchaustegui Utility
5'11"
155
Novi, MI Clueless
Lars Johnson Utility
5'8"
175
Dearborn, MI Pre-Med
Vikram Linga Utility
6'1"
140
Sandy Spring, MD Chemical Engineering
Dmitry Lubensky Utility
5'10"
165
Buffalo Grove, IL Economics
3
Nick Mansfield 2m/Utility
5'11"
175
Rockford, MI Engineering, Financial Math
1
Mason Nistel Goalie
6'2"
180
Sylvania, OH Chemical Engineering
Sameer Oak Driver
6'1"
153
Troy, MI Biochemistry
Tim Orzechowski Driver
5'10"
155
Grandville, MI Engineering
Kenichi Osawa Driver
5'11"
155
Ann Arbor, MI Advanced Storytelling
9
Ryan Pryor

2mD, Utility

6'5"
185
Holland, MI Law
13
Tim Raben Driver
5'10"
150
Lutherville, MD Math/Physics
Paul Reynolds Utility
6'2"
175
Okemos, MI Women's Studies
2
Sam "Panda" Rosen 2m/Utility
6'3"
215
Evanston, IL Industrial Operations Engineering
4
Matt"Rock" Rowland Utility
6'2"
185
St. Charles, IL Microbiology
19
Ben Spulber Utility
6'2"
175
Wilmette, IL Math/Economics
Jack Tesar Driver
5'9"
150
Ann Arbor, MI Swimsuit Modeling
18
Patrick "Idaho" Trabert Utility
5'10"
160
Twin Falls,Idaho
Naval Engineering
1
Ray Viviano Goalie
6'3"
167
Ann Arbor, MI Psych/Neuroscience
5
Matt Woelfel Utility
6'3"
180
East Grand Rapids, MI Lightbulb Management
10
Ben "Bombs" Baumgarten Driver
6'0"
140
Walled Lake, MI Nuclear Engineering

Drew Hansz

Entering his fourth year of coaching the men’s water polo team at U-M, Drew Hansz is best described as “a man who knows not his own strength, but what strength can produce.”

As an athlete, Hansz was a All-American in water polo at Birmingham Groves. At the collegiate level, Hansz was named All-Big Ten three times before graduating from the University of Michigan in 1995.

Outside of athletics, Hansz is an avid angler. His extravagant expeditions have taken him all over the world to places such as the Cayman Islands, Lac la Biche (Alberta, Canada), and the Hillsboro Inlet (Pompano Beach, FL). On a particularly prodigious fishing trip to Nahuel Huapi Lake in Argentina, Hansz encountered the legendary Patagonian plesiosaur, Nahuelito. Rather than capturing the creature and earning eternal glory, however, Hansz altruistically allowed the great monster to retain its freedom. Said Hansz, “I let a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with Nahuelito slip away. Am I mad? You bet. Am I more focused on coaching Michigan water polo? Usually.”

Bob Sala

As coach, Bob Sala brings an arsenal of water polo savvy to Michigan water polo. His diligence to core fundamentals, tactical gamesmanship, and quick-witted humor have not only made him a fan-favorite, but earned him great respect from his players as well.


Along with coach Drew Hansz, Sala attended Birmingham Groves high school where he was a 3-time All-American (2 for swimming, 1 for water polo) before attending and playing water polo for Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California. Sala led the Rustlers to 2 CA state JUCO championships with a combined 2-year W/L record of 62-5. It was however, during a semester abroad in Edinborough, Scotland that Sala found his "second true calling" as a champion Snooker player.


Known as "The Birmingham Breaker," Sala emerged as one of the rising stars of the game. His crowning achievement came at the Totesport Grand Prix in 2004 when he took down world no. 1 Ronnie O'Sullivan to win the only major Snooker tournament of his career.


Sala retired from professional Snooker in 2006 in order to return to the US and coach the Michigan Water Polo team. Despite the vast differences in the two games, Sala believed his time in Europe taught him valuable lessons for water polo. "In both sports, patience and timing are key," said Sala, "plus, if you hit your opponent with a cue stick in snooker, you'd be ejected from the match; and in water polo if you punch your opponent in the face, you'd probably get kicked out of the game, too."

 

 

 


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