Melissa Seidemann (left) capped her remarkable water polo career last month when the 2008 College Park High graduate was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in a Southern California ceremony. Credited for “her incomparable skills as a center, lockdown defensive play at two meters and deceptive touch scoring from the perimeter,” Seidemann won three Olympic gold medals for Team USA. She was joined at the ceremony by her sister Natalie. (Jonathan Moore photo courtesy USA Water Polo)
PLEASANT HILL, CA (July 22, 2025) — Melissa Seidemann has racked up enough honors to fill an enormous display case and as a fitting exclamation point for her remarkable water polo career the 2008 graduate of College Park High School was inducted last month into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.
The former Falcon won three Olympic gold medals with the American water polo team at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 summer games before she retired from the sport after the Tokyo Olympics, which were held in 2021 due to the pandemic.
College Park women weren’t done winning gold however, when ex-CPHS wrestler Amit Elor was a wrestling gold medalist last summer in Paris.
Seidemann swam and played soccer as a youngster. Her parents Mark and Bobbie helped her “discover a love for water” at an early age but she says it wasn’t until she was 13 or 14 that she began playing water polo.
She wasn’t sure about her ability taking on a new sport so she spent nearly a year practicing before she played her first game for the Devil Mountain Water Polo Club. It didn’t take long for her ability to be on full display.
USA Water Polo in announcing her selection as part of its 41st Hall of Fame class said Seidemann was “one of the most formidable defenders in Team USA history.”
The sport’s national body added, “One of the most versatile players in women’s water polo history, Melissa Seidemann quickly emerged as a world-class talent – and a nightmare for opponents – thanks to her incomparable skills as a center, lockdown defensive play at two meters and deceptive touch scoring from the perimeter.”
On the national and international stage those skills helped her win the three Olympic gold medals, three World Championship gold medals, three World Cup crowns, three Pan American Games golds and 10 World League titles as part of an unprecedented golden age for American women’s water polo.
High school and college Hall of Famer
Jeff Cable photo courtesy USA Water Polo Melissa Seidemann (3) was a key part of United States women’s water polo’s unprecedented three consecutive Olympic gold medals in London, Rio and Tokyo.
At College Park Seidemann helped her teams to four straight North Coast Section playoff berths, reaching the semi-finals her sophomore and junior seasons and the quarterfinals the other two years. They won the DFAL championship in her MVP senior year and she was named a NISCA All-America. She also swam for the Falcons three years and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2014.
Still in high school, she was a member of the 2006 US Youth National Team which won gold at the Pan-American Junior Games, where she was the leading scorer in the tournament with 20 goals. Seidemann was also a member of the Youth National Team, going undefeated in Australia in the summer of 2007 and on the American team that competed in the 2008 Global Championships.
“Once I found water polo, I wanted to reach the most elite level of competition possible. It wasn’t until my first taste with the Youth National Team in 2006 that I started dreaming about the Olympics. I remember a moment in 2011 when I was challenged to commit my mind and body to the process and will forever be grateful that I did,” Seidemann says.
She scored what proved to be the winning goal in the NCAA title game against Cal starting a women’s water polo dynasty at Stanford when the Cardinal won the 2011 NCAA championship, the first of their nine titles from 2011-2025.
After taking a year off to prepare for her first Olympic team, Seidemann claimed the 2013 Peter J. Cutino Award as the best player in the college game with 75 goals, helping Stanford reach the NCAA Tournament final. She was part of the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2023.
Seidemann debuted for the US National team in 2010 and 11 years later in Tokyo became only the second female water polo player in history to win three Olympic golds. She retired after the Tokyo Olympics, but has stayed close to the game as both a club and high school coach in Orange County.
She brings her passion and purpose to this job just like she did in the pool as a player.
Jay Bedecarré
Jay Bedecarré is a long-time resident and writer in Concord and Clayton. He began his newspaper writing career while still a senior at Mt. Diablo High School and he has been part of The Pioneer since its inception in 2003. Jay also operates Bay Area Festivals, presenting events around the San Francisco Bay Area including Bay Area KidFest annually in Downtown Concord.
Penn State women’s volleyball got itself a setter from the portal.
The Nittany Lions earned the commitment from Florida setter Alexis Stucky.
Stucky was teammates with now-Penn State right-side hitter Kennedy Martin during her first two seasons with the Gators. This past season, Stucky showed that she was a great setter with or without Martin. She had a career-high 56 assists against Missouri and had over 300 kills this season.
The two are back to being teammates, and the blue and white have a new setter.
Stucky will join incoming freshman Danielle Whitmire as the two setters on the team.
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AUSTIN, Texas (WKOW) – Wisconsin volleyball is celebrating a thrilling victory after defeating top-seeded Texas in the NCAA regional finals. The Badgers, led by coach Kelly Sheffield, will advance to the Final Four.
Sheffield’s team triumphed in four sets, 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 25-19, marking their sixth Final Four appearance under his leadership, and seventh overall in program history. This victory is Wisconsin’s first Elite Eight win at an opponent’s home venue.
The Badgers’ win comes after a previous loss to Texas on Aug. 31.
Wisconsin will face Kentucky in the national semifinals on Dec. 18, with Pittsburgh and Texas A&M also in the Final Four. The Final Four takes place in Kansas City.
MADISON (WKOW) – The Badger volleyball team is still dancing after upsetting the University of Texas in Austin for the Elite Eight of the NCAA volleyball tournament. The Final Four will take place in Kansas City, MO.
NCAA scheduling shows the Badgers will take on the Kentucky Wildcats in the second game of the day Thursday at the T Mobile center. Match #1 with Texas A&M and Pittsburgh is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. on the 18th.
The Championship is Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
With Thursday’s matches, the NCAA will open a “Fan Zone” from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., with the Fan Zone reopening for Sunday’s Championship. Attendees will experience engaging sponsor displays, autograph sessions, photo opportunities and other interactives. Wisconsin also has open practice on Wednesday starting just before 3 p.m.
MIAC Men’s Basketball Offensive Player of the Week Jake Schmitt Gustavus Adolphus College Jr. | Guard Plymouth, Minn. / Wayzata
Jake Schmitt led the Gusties to a 95-80 win over Saint John’s on 12/10 with 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting while going 5-for-8 from beyond the arc. Schmitt also had three steals, three assists, and three rebounds in the win.
MIAC Men’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Week Sam Koelling Carleton College Jr. | Forward Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline
Sam Koelling averaged 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and 23.0 points per game in a 2-0 week for the Knights with wins over Macalester (12/10) and Northwestern (12/13). Koelling had a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double with four blocks in Carleton’s win over the Scots and turned in 25 points, eight rebounds, and another blocked shot against the Eagles.
CLEVELAND – The Ohio volleyball team placed seven athletes on the 2025 Volleyball All-Mid-American Conference Team, as announced by the league on Monday, Dec. 15.
Eastern Michigan, Miami, and Western Michigan led the league with eight student-athletes honored. Ball State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, and Ohio followed behind with seven honorees each.
The Academic All-MAC honor is awarded to a student-athlete who has excelled in both athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests in that sport.
NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. – The Southern Connecticut State Univeristy cross country teams dominated the East Region year-end awards, selected by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
The Northeast 10 champions, Jonathan Volpe and Courtney Henchcliffe, each were named region Athletes of the Year. Both also won the East Region and advanced with their teams to the NCAA Championships.
Coaches John Wallin and Melissa Stoll were each named East Region Coach of the Year. Brian Nill is the SCSU lead assistant for cross country.
The Owls dominated this fall, with the men becoming the first program in NE10 history to claim four consecutive NE10 championships. The women repeated as conference champs for the second time in three seasons, winning the school’s first title in 2023. Volpe’s individual crown was his second league title.
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 10 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
Fans can subscribe via this link to follow NE10 NOW on FloSports this season. The partnership between the NE10 and FloSports works to provide funds back to the athletic departments of the Northeast-10 Conference in support of student-athletes while promoting the league on a national platform.
