Dynamo Water Polo Club - Atlanta, GA - Operating proudly since 1990

Dynamo Water Polo is a USA Water Polo club

Tournament Summary:

Tournament webpage

Game 1: Dynamo 20 - Miami of Ohio B 1

A strong press defense by #1 seed Dynamo forced numerous turnovers by the young Red Hawks. The trademark Dynamo counter attack generated 12 shots in the first quarter alone. Dynamo shooters tried for perfect shots and missed often, so DWPC lead just 5-0 after the first.

Miami scored their lone goal in the second quarter when a Dynamo steal went back to Kerry Kellogg, our goalie...whoops, that's not Kerry, it’s a Red Hawk! Dynamo continued the press defense throughout the game but shut down our counter at half, with the score 9-1.

Passive Red Hawk defense made it difficult for DWPC to execute the second half objective: all 6 field players touch the ball on every possession. Miami players stopped following Dynamo drivers to the goal, often oddly doubling on perimeter players. The second half ended as it started: Dynamo cruising up and down, trying to keep Miami players in plays since they were out of the game.

Game 2: Dynamo 17 - Indiana Univ. 1

Press defense plus inexperienced ball handling equals a long afternoon for the Hoosiers. Game highlights:

3rd Quarter: A dropped 4M penalty “shot” by "Yellow Jacket" Rick Bourgault. (Shot is in quotes because he never actually shot the ball.) The team anointed Rick “Cap & Ball Boy” for the weekend at the quarter break.
4th Quarter: Goalie turned field player Kerry Kellogg subbed in with a live time dive OVER the end line. He wasted the "sprint" down the pool, as the referee whistled his ejection the whole time. (Sprint is in quotes because Kerry doesn’t have one…despite his vivid imagination and lots of whitewater.)

A unanimous team vote after the game anointed Kerry “Cap & Ball Boy.” Hiss reign in the role ended quickly, but Rick takes pride in the fact that he holds the record for shortest time in role.

The IU win locked Dynamo as the top team in their group (1 of 4 groups). We'll need the double caffeinated Tangerine PowerGels in our bags when we face off against Miami of Ohio "A" at 8AM tomorrow. Hopefully Tim Sweetwood shows for the game against his alma mater. The winner plays for the championship, loser for third. NOVA and Notre Dame complete the top four.

Game 3: Dynamo 7 - Miami of Ohio A 6

Different day, same situation. Experienced Dynamo, with a very limited bench, faces off against what looks like an entire busload of college kids who can swim all day long. With just one substitute (yesterday we had the luxury of TWO), the Dynamo game plan of press defense and clock control offense became even more focused. The Redskins (their choice, in defiance of the official school mascot change about ten years ago) are a solid collegiate club team, willing to sprint up and down the pool all day long.

True to form, strong Dynamo defense keyed a 3-0 lead after one quarter. The teams traded goals until early in the fourth. Strangely, we started to gamble on offense despite our three goal lead. Attempts to thread the needle on offense led to a series of Dynamo turnover and allowed Miami to pull to 5-5 with 3:59 left in the game. Manny Torres soon shredded the top corner of the net with a quick 7m shot when his defender dropped off. Miami never gave up, including a set piece from a time out with 0:14 to go and down one. Dynamo used the time out to catch our collective breathe and set up a lanes defense that challenged each pass. Miami failed to generate a shot and Dynamo held the ball as the final horn sounded.

Game 4 (Championship): Dynamo 10 - Notre Dame 4

Dynamo, dynamite! After countless second place finishes, the Powerbar-fueled men of Dynamo finally bring home a first place trophy from the mountains of east Tennessee.

Double caffeine Tangerine PowerGels lit the fuse. Great press defense and consistently amazing switches to clamp down open Irish drivers combined with balanced scoring blew up the opposition. Selfless substitutions and strategic use of our two time outs for rest let us hang on in the fourth quarter. Wingers Mark Lefkow and Stuart Sheldon paced Dynamo with three goals each. Each scored goals off the counter, set offense and power play.

As icing on the cake, Manny Torres got the MVP ball as the raucous strains of “Rocky Top” pumped over the facility loudspeakers.

We look forward to our next trip to Knoxville. Now, has anyone seen who took Manny’s MVP ball?

Tournament Photos:

An anonymous (and submerged) Dynamo player finds the back of the net to cap off one of many successful counter attacks against Miami of Ohio University “B” on day one action at the 2005 Hillbilly Classic

With just one substitute, Dynamo required all the experience and team work we could muster to win the 2005 Hillbilly Classic. Front row: Will Sheldon (mascot), Manny Torres, Stuart Sheldon, Kerry Kellogg, Kevin Lisska. Back row: Rick Bourgault, Garrett Freeman, Jarod Stentiford, Mark Lefkow

Dynamo players congratulate Manny Torres (holding ball) on his MVP award at the 2005 Hillbilly Classic. In a senseless tragedy, Manny’s MVP ball disappeared from his bag while he was in the shower. Tournament host UT Water Polo graciously replaced the prize, but the mystery of Manny’s missing ball remains unsolved

Latest Headlines:

5/9/10 - Results from Dynamo's appearance at the Cinco de Mayo Invitational in Tampa have been posted.

Cinco de Dynamo

4/27/10 - Pictures from Dynamo's competitions at the 2010 Dogwood Invitational are available.

Dogwood Pics

4/25/10 - The stormy weather cleared over Saturday night and Dynamo sprinted off against N.C. State under sunny, windy conditions Sunday morning. At stake: a spot in the 5th place game against the winners of the Florida Gators/Ohio Squirrels game.

True to form, DWPC started slowly against the Wolfpack. The second quarter started with the score tied at 3-3. Sean "Wild Berry" Fitzgerald won the sprint (he was 4-4 in the game). DWPC worked the ball to Stu Sheldon on the lefty wing while Chris "Hairy Spider" Sirras set strong-side 2meters. Stu put the ball right in and Chris efficiently finds the back of the net with just 15 seconds off the clock. Dynamo notched two more and held NCSU scoreless to finish the first half 6-3.

State capitalized on several Dynamo gaffs on defense to climb back into the game in the third but never got within 1. High school senior Alex "Baby Dynamo" Olbrych added great counter-attack swims to his good weekend of defense and score three of his four break-away shots in the second half. Paced by Olbrych, Dynamo pulled ahead by as many as five goals and prepared for the 5th place game.

On the other side of the tournament brackets, UF and the defense-minded Ohio Squirrels squared off to determine which team advanced to face Dynamo WPC. The Dynamo squad watched with great interest as they refueled with PowerBars and PowerBar Recovery drink.

With a former USA National Team-er in goal, the Squirrels held the score down until halftime. As much as the Ohio team tried to go nuts on offense, the Gators seemed always able to clamp down and took control in the third.

After their win over the Squirrels, UF informed tournament officials they would forfeit the 5th place game. UF started finals on Monday and the Gators had an 8 hour drive to complete. Dynamo left Knoxville 5th out of 14 teams, proud of their 1 loss, to Ohio University in round-robin play, in what may have been the best game of the tournament.

5th at 2010 Dogwood

4/10/10 - Dynamo Water Polo Club continued a busy April travel schedule with the Spring in the Swamp tournament in Gainesville, FL. As always, the team looked forward to a weekend of sunshine in the Gators' outdoor pool in the shadow of "The Swamp," the UF football stadium.

Dynamo won its first two games against UF and the Tampa Thunder. The game against Thunder was a close one, with a number of lead changes as both teams searched for control of the match. Dynamo utility player Tim Hansen put away the winning goal in the final seconds of regulation time.

Dynamo lost 10-7 to the Central Florida Suns in the semis. In the third place game, Dynamo beat cross-town friends from Georgia Tech.

Dynamo closes out April at the Dogwood Invitational in Knoxville, TN in two weeks. The UT trip is the third away tournament of the month for DWPC.

Too Much Sun in Swamp

6/17/09 - The USWP Masters National Championships has been announced for June 10th - 12th, 2011. The event will be hosted at the Georgia Tech Aquatics Center.

To learn more or to reserve your team's spot in the event, please register for the 2011 Masters Nationals Email List.

2011 Masters Nationals

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