Former UC Santa Barbara men’s water polo goalie and Gaucho great Chris Whitelegge, current utility standout Reed Cotterill and women’s water polo head coach Serela Kay have all been selected to represent their countries at the 2017 World University Games in Taipei, Tawain from Aug. 18-30. Whitelegge and Kay will don the red, white and blue for Team USA while Cotterill will suit up for Team Australia in the 29th occurrence of the games.
Whitelegge, the all-time saves leader in program history, led the Gauchos to numerous top-10 appearances in the national rankings during his career and competed in the Australian National League for the Hunter Hurricanes last winter. Most recently, the Newport Beach, Calif. native earned National League, Fisher Cup and US Open Championships as a member of the New York Athletic Club.
Kay, who is entering her fourth season at the helm of the Gauchos, has led the team to its highest win total in program history, a Big West Championship, an NCAA Tournament appearance while earning conference Coach of the Year accolades. She will serve as one of two assistant coaches for the women of Team USA.
Rounding out the trio of selections is Cotterill, who is fresh off a junior campaign that saw him earn Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Second Team All-America honors to go along with First Team All-Gold Coast Conference recognition. The Sydney, Australia native led the team with 44 goals while also tallying 24 steals and 11 assists.
Both the men’s and women’s teams open competition on Aug. 18 against Japan and France, respectively. The University Games feature over 500 of the world’s best current and recent students competing in over 21 sports.
After a third-place finish for the men, and a fifth-place finish for the women in 2015, both teams are looking to improve on their final standings this time around.
A complete schedule and streaming will be available at USAWaterPolo.org.