Sports

Asphalt Green’s David Rodriguez Wants Water Polo Growth in NYC

Published

4 months ago

September 3, 2025

Asphalt Green’s David Rodriguez Has High Hopes for Water Polo Growth in NYC

On Wednesday night, history will be made at Asphalt Green (AG) on New York City’s Upper East Side. Two professional water polo clubs—Italy’s Pro Recco, whose 11 Champions League titles make it the world’s best, and Ferencvaros of Hungary, winner of the last two Champions League titles—will face American college teams, the first time such matches have ever taken place in The Big Apple.

On Thursday night, Pro Recco and Ferencvaros will face off in a friendly match.

That this should happen in the city’s premiere aquatic facility is as it should be. Ever since the venerable swimming and fitness center opened its doors in 1984, AG has been the go-to location for New York City’s best swimming.

When UCLA, currently the top squad in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Men’s varsity poll, faces Pro Recco, the stands will be packed with polo fans from around the region. The nightcap features Princeton, the Garden State’s prized polo squad, playing Ferencvaros, whose squad has never been to NYC, unlike their Italian rivals who in 2002 played an exhibition against the U.S. men’s national team. That was the last time a water polo event of any magnitude occurred in the country’s media capital.

Courtesy: Asphalt Green

It’s no coincidence that at this moment David Rodriguez, longest-tenured head swim coach in AG’s history, is thinking big about polo. When Pro Recco owners Philip Hammarskjold and Alex Behring dreamed a year ago of a splash for their newly acquired club, they thought of NYC. Which brought them to Rodriguez and AG’s plans to make polo more than something locals think about at Olympic times—or once every four years.

Following is an abbreviated version of a recent interview with David Rodriguez. For the full text, please click on this link.

AG has an opportunity with water polo—next week Pro Recco and Ferencvaros will play one of the highest profile polo matches in NYC history. There’s often a split between swim people and water polo people. As the aquatic director, you oversee two different programs with natural rivalries.

Having an elite swim program and elite water polo program under the same umbrella is another piece we’re trying to achieve. My background is as competitive swimmer; through and through that was my passion. But I was exposed to water polo and played water polo throughout my high school career with some really great water polo coaches—and grew a lot of fandom for the sport itself and working together being a useful tool for kids to parlay into their professional lives.

Through careful leadership [AG polo] has evolved into a respectable program. What if we were to put our foot on the gas and try to become an elite program?

The combination of our coaches, my competitive nature and AG’s focus on the sports fitness and play for all we’ve decided to put our foot on the gas and see if we can get a water polo program that can hold up to what we’ve done from a swimming perspective.

There’re many competing forces, AG, a nonprofit with a very clear mission, to get as many people as possible in the water. On the flip side is AG’s many different constituencies—and now you are considering expanding water polo—and what that means to pool usage and your clientele.

I say it a little bit tongue in cheek, but the reality is that if you ask each of the constituencies, they’d all be mad at me and all be wanting more.

And I think that that’s when the lens that we use on all of this is through our mission… the concept of sports, fitness and play for all.

How do we chop it up? That’s a challenge! For our competitive team, we all must make compromises on pool time. Our water polo program, if they had more pool time would be better.

One of the blessings in disguise of all this is that our athletes on AGUA and ultimately water polo learn that [aquatics] is about something so much bigger than just their competitive teams. And the ability to provide access and to give opportunities that they have is at the core of what we’re teaching the kids. We’re teaching the kids to be advocates and better citizens and do things when they leave our program.

One of our athletes, Ali Wright, recently took the initiative and raised over $70,000 by herself to support our community programs. If we keep everything separate—only competitive teams here in this pool or community swimmers, there—they’d never see that.

I don’t think we perfected it, but I think that we found a good balance between having everybody cheerlead all the things that we’re doing [while] giving everybody what they need.

To finish up, there are rumors out there that AG wants more water, that if you could find the land, you’d build another facility.

We look at this in two ways. It’s not only expansion, but also maintenance and preservation of our current landscape as well, which is the two sides of the coin. Right now, we shut down both of our pools for two weeks to refurb/rehab, do all those things to continue to deliver [program] at a high level at our home site. We helped rehab the pool at River East which hadn’t been open since 2015. It’s not only building on our campus, but also looking for [aquatic] assets sprinkled across the city—that could potentially work for us and what we’re trying to do.

We’re doing due diligence on our research and seeing what’s possible on our campuses. We know we are bursting at the seams looking for more pool space and water. If there’s an opportunity that makes sense for the organization, I’m confident that we’ll jump on it.

Michael Randazzo (the Man with a Hat) is a swimming & water polo enthusiast in New York City. He’s the executive director of Inclusive Community Wellness, a Brooklyn-based NPO that provides health and wellness opportunities to New Yorkers. When he’s not on a pool deck helping children and adults learn to swim, Randazzo occasionally writes about water polo, a sport he never played and barely understands.

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Sports

Brittnay Estes – Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator – Women’s Volleyball Coaches

Published

2 hours ago

January 5, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Estes enteres her second season with the Wolfpack after being hired as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator in February 2025. Her main focus is working with the middle blockers and running the Pack’s defense.

“Brittnay is the perfect addition to our staff. She comes to us highly-recommended and is a very well-respected coach in the volleyball community. I am excited to add her energy, extreme enthusiasm and competitiveness to our gym,” said Wargo-Kearney. “Brittnay is a great relationship builder and will have the trust of our players, as well as future Wolfpack athletes. I have no doubt her impact on our program will make us stronger and she will continue to put together strong recruiting classes as our recruiting coordinator. I am fired up to welcome her to Raleigh!”

Estes joins the Pack after spending the last four seasons at her alma mater, Lipscomb.

She helped coach the 2023 ASUN Player of the Year, Meg Mersman, to All-American, All-Region honors, in addition to three All-ASUN honors.

In her first season with the Bison in 2020, she helped guide the squad to their seventh ASUN Regular Season Championship and seventh Tournament Championship after the group finished with a 14-2 overall record and 11-1 conference record.

Prior to joining the staff in Nashville, Estes spent five years in Los Angeles, California where she played one season of beach volleyball for Loyola Marymount as a graduate student before playing pro for the Associate of Volleyball Professionals (AVP), the country’s most extensive premiere beach volleyball tour.

A standout outside hitter for the Bison, the Palm Harbor, Florida native was a four year starter and was tabbed the 2015 Conference Player of the Year. During her senior campaign, she was tabbed the ASUN Tournament MVP. She remains in the top-five in the Lipscomb record book for several stats, including kills per set and kills per set in a five set match.

Over the course of her time in Nashville, she collected two All-Conference selections, two All-Tournament team nods, and four Player of the Week honors. She was also a two-time AVCA All-Region honoree. In 2020, she was named to the ASUN All-Decade team.

Estes graduated from Lipscomb in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and New Media. She also earned her master’s degree from Loyola Marymount in Educational Studies.

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This Week in Wake Forest Women’s Athletics – Presented by Truist (Jan. 5-11)

Published

3 hours ago

January 5, 2026

Your Sports Nation

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Truist, a longstanding partner of Wake Forest University who is An Official Banking Partner of Wake Forest Athletics and the Presenting Partner of Wake Forest Women’s Athletics brings Deacon Nation this weekly update from the Demon Deacons women’s programs:

Women’s Basketball:
- Wake Forest began the month with a 74-55 victory over Pitt on Jan. 1, as the Demon Deacons shared the ball at an elite rate, assisting on 26 of the 29 made baskets in the win over the Panthers.
- It marked the first time since the 2019-20 season that the Deacs started ACC play at 2-1.
- The Demon Deacons now turn the attention to the California swing, first facing Stanford on Thursday before concluding the trip against Cal on Sunday.

Track & Field:
- The Wake Forest women’s track and field team are set to return to action with three meets during the month of January.
  - The Demon Deacons begin 2026 by competing in the Mondo College Invitational (Jan. 17) at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem.
  - The Deacs will then have a dual slate during the final week of the month, with one group heading to Lynchburg, Va. to compete at the Brant Tolsma Invitational (Jan. 30-31), while another group traveling to Boston for the John Thomas Terrier Classic (Jan. 31).

Volleyball:
- Head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer and Demon Deacons volleyball recently announced three additions in middle blocker Catherine Burke, libero Andrea Roman and outside hitter Amina N’Diaye.
  - Burke comes to Wake Forest from Penn State, where she was a member of the Nittany Lions’ 2024 National Championship team. Off the court, she earned a spot on the 2024 Academic All-Big Ten Team.
  - Roman was one of the country’s top defenders this past fall as a junior at Little Rock, finishing second in the NCAA in total digs (632) while being named the OVC Defensive Player of the Year. The Humacao, Puerto Rico, native earned multiple all-OVC honors during her three years with the Trojans.
  - N’Diaye spent her freshman season at Miami, helping the Hurricanes rank as a top-15 team nationally for the majority of the fall en route to making an appearance in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. A key piece of Miami’s core of hitters, she was third on the roster in kills (139) in 27 matches.

About Truist
Truist Financial Corporation is a purpose-driven financial services company committed to inspiring and building better lives and communities. Truist has leading market share in many high-growth markets in the country, and offers a wide range of products and services through our retail and small business banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, insurance, wealth management, and specialized lending businesses. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Truist is a top 10 U.S. commercial bank with total assets of $574 billion as of March 31, 2023. Truist Bank, Member FDIC. Learn more at Truist.com.

About Wake Forest University

Wake Forest University is known for its distinctive combination of world-class academics, unrivaled campus experience, intimate learning environment and Power 4 athletics in a top-growing metro market. A Charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Demon Deacons have won 59 conference titles and are one of nine ACC schools to win 11 or more national championships. Additionally, with 1.7 million people within 30 miles of campus, Wake Forest anchors the Winston-Salem and Triad market, which ranks as ESPN’s seventh-best nationally from a viewership perspective.

Wake Forest’s comprehensive excellence includes its highly regarded school of medicine, business school, law school, innovative department of engineering and its nationally renowned Program for Leadership and Character, which prepares students to live with purpose, integrity and courage. Additionally, Wake Forest has campuses across Winston-Salem, Charlotte and Washington, D.C. – providing many academic offerings to students from across the nation and around the world.

Learn more about Wake Forest University at www.wfu.edu and at GoDeacs.com.

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Tyler Legacy lands 5 on 6A All-State volleyball team

Published

3 hours ago

January 5, 2026

Your Sports Nation

LONGVIEW — Five Tyler Legacy volleyball players earned honors on the Blue Bell/Texas Sports Writers Association Class 6A All-State Volleyball Team, the organization announced on Monday.

Taylor Woods and Maddie Goin were honorable mention selections as outside hitters. Mikel Reed and Aubrey Felton earned honorable mention honors at middle blocker. Kate Priest was an honorable mention pick at libero/defensive specialist.

Woods, a Louisiana Tech signee, had 379 kills, 285 digs, 25 blocks, 44 aces, 497 serve/receive receptions and a 2.08 average. Goin had 235 kills, 194 digs, 21 blocks, 300 serve/receive receptions and a 2.04 average. Reed had 124 kills, 52 blocks and 48 digs. Felton had 112 kills, 62 blocks, 13 aces and 41 digs. Priest had 328 digs, 419 serve/receive receptions and a 2.11 average.

The Lady Raiders went 22-10, qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2021 and won a playoff match for the first time since 2007.

Longview’s Triniti Jackson was a third-team pick at setter. Teammates Alyssa Grissom, Jaharia Hunter and Landry Tubb were honorable mention selections at middle blocker, outside hitter and libero/defensive specialist, respectively.

Jackson had 702 assists, 401 kills, 313 digs, 45 blocks and 60 aces. Grissom had 201 kills, 91 blocks, 31 aces and 56 digs. Hunter had 331 kills, 222 digs and 32 blocks. Tubb had 628 digs, 28 aces and 42 assists.

State champions Byron Nelson (Division I) and Southlake Carroll (Division II) earned the top superlatives in voting. Byron Nelson’s Sophee Peterson was named Player of the Year in Class 6A, and Leslie Jackson of Southlake Carroll earned Coach of the Year honors.

Voting was conducted by TSWA members based on nominations from coaches and TSWA members from around the state.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Leslie Jackson, Southlake Carroll

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Sophee Peterson, Byron Nelson

FIRST TEAM

Middle Blockers: Kinsley Young, Southlake Carroll; Camille Presley, Austin; Kerington Thornton, Round Rock

Outside Hitters: Layla Austin, Southlake Carroll; Avery Koonsen, Pearland Dawson; Marlee Lightsey, Comal Canyon

Setter: Sophee Peterson, Byron Nelson

Libero/Defensive Specialist: Jenna Thedford, Pearland Dawson

SECOND TEAM

Middle Blockers: Taliah Angwekwe, Stony Point; Callie Funk, Katy Tompkins; Keaton Points, Pearland Dawson

Outside Hitters: Kylie Kleckner, Byron Nelson; Riley Malloy, Austin; Saniya Reynolds, Cy Ranch

Setter: Logan Sanders, Comal Canyon

Libero/Defensive Specialist: Taylor Wright, Copperas Cove

THIRD TEAM

Middle Blockers: Ryea Jackson, Duncanville; (tie) Madyson Carr, Cy Ranch; (tie) Micah Rusher, Oak Ridge

Outside Hitters: Kylie Rodriguez, Forney; Ashley Seay, Byron Nelson; Jaylyn Tuiasosopo, O’Connor

Setter: (tie) Triniti Jackson, Longview; Audrey Cook, Stratford

Libero/Defensive Specialist: Emerson Chang, Manvel

HONORABLE MENTION

Middle Blockers: Carinne Bouie, Goose Creek Memorial; Mikel Reed, Tyler Legacy; Aubrey Felton, Tyler Legacy; Khadijah Blue, Cibolo Steele; Mia Carrasco, Eastlake; Alyssa Grissom, Longview; Carolina Elizondo, Laredo Alexander; Jocelyn Joyner, O’Connor

Outside Hitters: Jaharia Hunter, Longview; Taylor Woods, Tyler Legacy; Nevah English, Manvel; Karina Deylen Mendivil, James Madison; Sloane Ranney, Pearland Dawson; Simone Heard, Plano East; Giselle Gandara, Eastlake; Leila Ceaser, Oak Ridge; Jasmyn Walker, Manvel; Peyton Smith, Duncanville; Maddie Goin, Tyler Legacy; Elisa St. Rose, Katy Thompson; Halle Thompson, Grand Oaks; Gwen Koss, Stafford; Mary-Christine Crutcher, Mansfield

Setter: Olivia Pena, O’Connor; Maggie McCarroll, Austin; Tinsley Welker, Fort Bend Austin; London King, Manvel

Libero/Defensive Specialist: Kaylee Parker, Cy Ranch; Landry Tubb, Longview; Isabella Cordaway-Dreier, Round Rock; Lainey Monroe, Katy Tompkins; Kate Priest, Tyler Legacy

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HPISD Board of Trustees Honors Volleyball Team

Published

3 hours ago

January 5, 2026

Your Sports Nation

The Highland Park ISD board of trustees recognized the district’s history-making volleyball team at its Dec. 16 meeting.

Head coach Michael Dearman called the Class 5A Division I state champions “a very special team.”

“We, of course, were chock full of talent. You’re looking at several All Americans here. But that’s not the real story about this team. The real story about this team is about closeness, and the family, and the trust that we had with one another,” he said. “They played for each other. It was an amazing, amazing experience.”

Dearman recognized each Lady Scot and the team’s coaches individually.

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Volleyball Signs Olivia Ruy – Utah State University Athletics

Published

4 hours ago

January 5, 2026

Your Sports Nation

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State head volleyball coach Keith Smith announced the signing of Olivia Ruy on Monday.

Ruy, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, spent the past season at Maryland, making 10 starts and appearing in 24 matches and 63 total sets. Ruy totaled 126.5 points last season, averaging 2.01 per set, and recorded 112 kills, 71 digs, 20 blocks and three aces. She posted a season-high 16 kills against Davidson, also clearing double-digits with 12 kills against Iowa. Ruy posted a season-high 13 digs against Coastal Carolina, narrowly missing a double-double with nine kills.

Prior to Maryland, Ruy spent two years at Arkansas, redshirting in 2023 before making 24 starts and appearing in 25 games in 2024. As a redshirt freshman, Ruy ranked third on the team in total kills (221), kills per set (2.81) and service aces (13), also totaling 123 digs and 25 blocks. She recorded 11 double-digit kill matches and posted three double-doubles during SEC play, doing so with 11 kills and 10 digs against Florida, 12 kills and 11 digs at Ole Miss, 16 kills and a season-high 14 digs against Oklahoma. She earned SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors on Nov. 11 after posting a career high 17 kills and .452 hitting percentage in the Razorbacks’ sweep of South Carolina.

Ruy was a four-year starting outside hitter for Woods Cross (Utah) High School where she was named to the All-State Team as well as All-Region in each of her four seasons. Ruy led the Wildcats in kills per set (4.0), overall kills (417) and aces (76) her senior season and led the team high in kills per set and aces per set in three of four seasons in high school. Ruy also played for Club V Volleyball, where she placed third nationally and was a three-time Under Armour All-American camp invitee.

Fans can follow the Aggie volleyball program on Twitter, @USUVolleyball, on Facebook at /USUVolleyball or on Instagram, @usuvolleyball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.

– USU –

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Red Devils Rank 37th in Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings Thru Fall Season

Published

4 hours ago

January 5, 2026

Your Sports Nation

CLEVELAND – After a fantastic fall season that saw six teams earn Centennial Conference postseason action and two teams as well as two individuals participate in NCAA Championship play, Dickinson College ranks 37th in the Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings as announced by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).

The Learfield Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in NCAA Championships.

Dickinson racked up 158 points thanks to 73 points given to men’s soccer following their second straight run to the NCAA Quarterfinals. Field Hockey was also a major contributor to the Red Devils ranking claiming 53 points after first year head coach Maggie Sohns guided her side to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. Men’s Cross Country grabbed 32 points thanks to sending the pair of Nathan Caldwell and Luke Knestout to the NCAA Championship race.

The Red and White ranks second among Centennial Conference members, trailing second-place Johns Hopkins (454.50 pts) and hold a 20 point cushion on Swarthmore who sits right behind DC in 38th.

NACDA will release another set of rankings on April 2, 2026, following the winter season, before the final standings are announced June 9, 2026, after the completion of the 2025-26 academic year.

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