Nikola Stamenić wasn’t just a coach. He was a water polo “philosopher”, a teacher who turned the raw energy of water polo into mathematical precision and artistic expression. For more than four decades, Stamenić shaped generations of athletes, inspiring them with his knowledge, but above all with his ethos, down-to-earth ways, and dedication to his craft.

Born in Belgrade in 1949, he played for Partizan and the Yugoslavian national team, with whom he won the silver medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics. But it was the next stage of his career—coaching—that would make him a water polo legend. As a coach, he won gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympics (1988), turning the Yugoslav national team into an unstoppable machine.

And he would go on to leave an indelible mark on Greek polo, too. Taking charge of Olympiacos in the late 1990s, he transformed the Piraeus team into European champions (the Reds reached the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup) and laid the foundations for their absolute dominance of Greek water polo in the years ahead. In 2002, as a coaching consultant, he saw Olympiacos reach the very top of Europe with victory in the Champions Cup.

Nakić laid the foundations on which the Club’s greatness still stands

Iron discipline

Stamenić believed in defense, hard work, and discipline. He stressed physical fitness, but also the athletes’ mental cultivation. He spoke about “polo directors”, of “meaningful movement” and “team instinct”. Many of the top Greek coaches—including Thodoris Vlachos, Nikos Deligiannis and Kostas Loudis—were his students, either directly or indirectly.

And even after he quit coaching, the sport never left Stamenić’s heart. He continued to provide advice, write and speak passionately about the sport he loved. He passed away in 2024, leaving behind titles and accolades, but above all a way of thinking, an approach that made water polo more art and less “war”.

Nikola Stamenić was a man who inspired his players rather than browbeating them. Who guided rather than dictated. Which is the measure of a true leader.

Vlacho Orlic, the “high priest” of Yugoslav polo, said Stamenić “assembled the pieces of his team like a civil engineer”. Stamenić had an utterly unique way of thinking about polo, which was simultaneously innovative, radical and timeless. And his moral stance was honored, albeit indirectly, when the new rules of the sport placed fair play center-stage.

Mile Nakić: the cornerstone of the Olympiacos team of the 1990s. He changed the course of Greek water polo with his discipline, principles and dedication.

Mile Nakić

However, before Stamenić, there was Ante “Mile” Nakić. More than simply a great polo coach, he was a silent pioneer, a coach who worked for his sport ethically, with discipline and love, and was the cornerstone of Olympiacos’ emergence on—and subsequent dominance – of the European polo map.

Born in Šibenik in 1942, he started his career at VK Šibenik, where he played for a decade. As a coach, he started out with the same team, where he remained for another eleven years before embarking on his great journey on the international stage.

In 1978, he took over at Olympiacos for the first time, with a short but decisive tenure. He returned for a second stint in the 1985-86 season, and again for his most successful and historic partnership with the Reds in the mid-1990s. He led Olympiacos to two consecutive Greek championships in 1995-96 and established the club as a Greek water polo power house. The club’s subsequent European success would be built on the foundations he laid at that time.

With his focus on fitness and balanced tactics and flawless psychological management of his athletes, Nakić was considered the ultimate fount of knowledge about the sport. He was never noisy, and his teams did their talking in the pool. He used the Greek model as a springboard for taking the sport to new heights, while working with top athletes and passing on the principles of modern polo to Greece’s future coaches.

In addition to Olympiacos, he also coached the Greek (1992-1995) and Yugoslavian (1982-1983) national teams, leaving the latter post just two months before the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where Yugoslavia took gold. He also worked at the Greek team of Halkida, as well as in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Slovakia, achieving results everywhere he went. He was particularly successful at Glyfada, which won four championships and three Greek Cups under his guidance.

Well-traveled, knowledgeable and always humble, Mile Nakić was more than a coach. He was a visionary who passed through Olympiacos at crucial moments in its history and changed the course of red-and-white water polo with his disarming professionalism. He was the cornerstone on which a great team was built that would go on to dominate Greece and conquer Europe.

In 2010, of the 12 clubs in the first division of the Greek league, seven had coaches who had played under Nakić! Names that remain iconic: the current national coach Thodoris Vlachos, Voltirakis, Chatzitheodorou, Loudis… His multifaceted coaching footprint continues to nurture Greek polo to this day.

Moreover, it was Nakić himself who paved the way for a number of Croatian coaches and players to come to Greece and forge a tradition that remains very much alive. It is no coincidence that Ante “Mile” Nakić lived and worked in Greece for 18 years in all.

Stamenić was a man who inspired his players rather than browbeating them. Who guided rather than dictated. Which is the measure of a true leader.

Dedication

Nakić, the father of another Olympiacos player, Franco Nakić, who was a European champion with the Reds in 1997, showed that sportsmanship and attention to detail were written into his DNA.

Olympiacos and Greek polo owe him a great deal. Ante Nakić’s contribution isn’t measured in medals. It’s measured in principles, ethics and progress. And the progress he made left an indelible imprint on Greek aquatic sport.

The names of the two Yugoslavs are indelibly engraved in Red on Olympiacos water polo, with Serbo-Croat intelligence and Balkan honesty. Nikola Stamenić and Ante “Mile” Nakić. The first, an architect of integrity, gave birth to a school. He didn’t just train players. He created men, characters who learned to fight fairly in the water, to win without crowing and to lose with dignity. Like a poet of the chlorine, he taught polo as an art, not technical trickery. The second—steady as a rock and with a gaze as deep as the Adriatic—built the Olympiacos of the 90s. He brought titles to Piraeus, but more than that, he gave the team discipline, structure and recognition. With mathematical precision and quiet strength, he laid the foundations on which the Club’s greatness stands still.

The two men followed different paths in the service of the same mission: to teach ethics, passion and perspective. For Olympiacos, Stamenić and Nakić were more than coaches; they were standard bearers for another, more ethical, era. And if, one day, they are forgotten by the many, they will live on still in the souls of those who gave their hearts to Olympiacos in the churning cauldron of the unforgiving pool.

Hope College sprinter Sara Schermerhorn posted her highest finish in the 200-meter run at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday.

The junior from Traverse City, Michigan (Traverse City West HS) placed 11th in the nation after clocking a time of 24.41 seconds during prelims at the SPIRE Institute near Cleveland.

The fastest nine of 22 entrants qualified for the championship race on Saturday, May 24. Schermerhorn finished .05 behind the final qualifier.

University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse junior Lauren Jarrett topped the field by clocking a run of 23.72 seconds.

As a sophomore, Schermerhorn took 14th place in the 200 at nationals. As a freshman, the exercise science major finished 16th in the event.

Schermerhorn claimed All-America Second Team accolades for the second time in her career. The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association began awarding All-America Second Team honors in 2024.

The three-day NCAA Championships run through Saturday. 

Schermerhorn is scheduled to run in the 400-meter prelims on Friday, May 23, at 3:15 p.m.

 

GENEVA, Ohio—Babson College graduate student Anthony Rodriguez (Prairie View, Ill.) concluded his remarkable career with a time of 31:40.27 in the 10,000-meter run at the Division III National Championships at the SPIRE Academy Track & Field Complex. 

Rodriguez placed 21st overall in a fast race that saw Braden Nicholson of North Central (Ill.) finish first with a time of 29:20.59 that ranks as the third fastest in the 10,000 meters as the NCAA Championships since 1995. 

Rodriguez, who qualified for the national meet for the second consecutive season, recorded his second fastest time of the year and the 10th best of his career on Thursday night. He will leave Babson as the school-record holder in both the 5000 and 10,000 meters to go along with five conference titles and five USTFCCCA All-East Region awards. 

 

BOSTON – There is a new king of the Boston City League.

Defending back-to-back-to-back boys volleyball champion O’Bryant no longer wears the crown, as a tenacious Latin Academy team swept the champs, 3-0, at Emmanuel College.

This was a rematch of last year’s city championship. Latin Academy was on the verge of a title a year ago, ahead, 2-1, entering the fourth set, but a resilient O’Bryant pulled off the comeback. That was not the case this year, as Latin Academy won each set – 25-22, 25-19, and 25-20 – in convincing manner.

“Last year hurt,” said Latin Academy coach Nick Mone. “It really stung. This year, we were determined not to let that happen again. We focused on one point at a time. Everybody stepped up, and we did what we needed to do going to win this game.”

Powered by team captain/outside hitter Otavio Perks (13 kills) and setter Max Dong (25 assists), O’Bryant refused to relinquish its title without a proper fight.

But Latin Academy (11-10) spread the ball, defended exceptionally well, and showcased its firepower with a balanced attack from opposite hitter Gabriel Ugoji (seven kills), outside hitter James Urbaez (four aces, eight kills) opposite hitter Timmy Lewis (nine kills) and outside hitter/libero Teddy Stylianopoulos (seven kills, two assists).

“Every player contributed to the win,” said Mone, whose team-oriented approach paid dividends. “It’s been a tough year. We played the tough teams in DI, and we took our lumps. But the goal is to compete with anyone. It’s been hard, but it’s all about building and growing. Seeing the players improve each day makes it all worth it.”

Latin Academy won a back-and-forth affair in the opening set. It was even at 14-14 before Latin Academy finished on an 11-8 run to seize the set, 25-22, and grab the early advantage.

O’Bryant (7-11) was dealt a blow in the second set when outside hitter Louis Chiu was forced to leave the game with a right ankle injury. It was even at eight apiece when Chiu left the game, and that was when libero Tri Duong, the maestro of Latin Academy’s defense, led an attack that prevented O’Bryant from generating any sort of consistent offense.

“That’s my job – never let the ball hit the ground,” said Duong, who captured the game’s Most Valuable Player award. “And it makes my coach happy.”

Latin Academy won the set, 25-19, to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. With a deftness at reacting, positioning, and reading the hitter, Duong stifled opportunities that would have led to O’Bryant seizing momentum.

“We were close last year and it was tough to lose, so we worked extra hard to make this our year,” said Duong. “Winning this title, winning MVP, winning with my teammates, it all feels amazing.”

O’Bryant coach Paul Pitts-Dilley was unable to make the game, as he was present for his son’s surgical procedure. Filling in were assistant coaches Liam Healey and Nathan Tan. Had a few breaks went its way in that second set, the outcome could have been a whole lot different.

“Pardon my expression, but that’s the way the ball bounces,” said Healey. “The boys left their hearts on the court. Hopefully they use this as fuel for the playoffs. These kids have a lot more fight in them.”

A senior leader, Ugoji played a pivotal part in Latin Academy’s victory. After watching his older brother play for O’Bryant, Ugoji vowed to rearrange the hierarchy in the city. It resulted in a tremendous amount of sweat, tears, and turmoil, but ends with the city championship finding a new home with Ugoji at Latin Academy.

“A lot of struggle went into this,” said Ugoji. “We leaned a lot from the seniors before us, from their guidance and support. Personally, I got a lot of support from my teammates and coaches – I can’t thank them enough for helping me enjoy the ride.

“And it’s not over – we still have states. We’ll go back to practice, lock in, and be ready for whatever comes next.”

After losing in last year’s Round of 16, Latin Academy looks to extend its winning ways in the Division 2 state tournament, where it is possible it once again will see O’Bryant.

“We’re not done yet,” said Mone. “That’s the message here. We have a lot to still play for. We had a tough finish last year, and we’re out for redemption.”

Junior Alison Mueller-Hickler finished 10th in the 10K finals to kick off Colorado College’s first day at the NCAA Division III Track and Field National Championships in Geneva, Ohio. 
 
“We had some really great performances on the first day of the championship,” head coach Katie Brescher said. “Rabbit and Isabel did what they needed to do to advance to the finals. Alison ran a competitive race in the 10k. I’m very excited for her to be an All-American.”
 
Mueller-Hickler earned second-team All-American honors for her 10th-place finish with a time of 35:26.33. This is the junior’s first-ever nationals appearance, and she came into the weekend with the 10th-fastest time in the country.
 
Senior Isabel Olson qualified for the finals in the women’s 1,500-meter after finishing 4:31.46 in the first heat. She has the ninth-fastest time entering Saturday’s finals. 
 
In the men’s races, junior Rabbit Barnes qualified for the finals in the 1,500-meter after running a 3:54.55 in Thursday’s prelims. Barnes placed fourth in the first heat and has the 13th fastest time entering Friday’s final. 
 
Sophomore Will Shuflit crossed the finish line at 31:37.04 in the men’s 10K finals.