Tony Azevedo

Anthony Lawrence Azevedo (born November 21, 1981 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is an American water polo player and a graduate of Stanford University. Nicknamed "The Savior" at one point, he is considered to be one of the best American water polo players in recent memory. He is the current captain of the US National Men's Water Polo Team.

Although he was born in Brazil, his family moved to California when he was 1 month old. When he was four, Azevedo suffered a fall that severed his trachea and esophagus. Although his heart stopped beating on the operating table for a period of four minutes before doctors were able to revive him, he made a complete recovery and went on to excel in in Water Polo, a strenuous sport.

Education

During his four years at Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach, California, his team won four California Interscholastic Federation championships and he was named MVP all four years. Azevedo led Stanford's men's water polo team to two NCAA championships (in 2001 and 2002), and he represented the United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. At the 2004 Olympics, Azevedo was second on the tournament’s goals scored list with 15. He set a school freshman scoring record (68 goals), a single-season school record as a sophomore (95, or 3.4 goals a game) and, scored a school record 332 career goals in four years at Stanford. For each of his four years in college, Azevedo was honored as the most outstanding male player of the year with the Peter J. Cutino Award – water polo’s version of the Heisman Trophy. While at Stanford, he was a member of the Alpha Pi chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order.

Career

In 2004 after graduating from Stanford University with a degree in International Relations, Azevedo signed a professional water polo contract with Bissolati Cremona (Italy) placing him among the top 10 paid players in the sport. Playing with Team Bissolati for his third season in 2006, he scored 63 goals with a 2.62 average per game. Azevedo rejoined the rest of the US men’s national team at the 2007 Melbourne World Championships. [USA Waterpolo: [http://usawaterpolo.org/index.php?customernumber=614341366530566&pr=011707_ItalianLeague US National Team Athletes make impact on Italian League] (Retrieved 2007-01-21)] Azevedo scored 5 goals of an 8-4 win by the US National Team over host country China in the opening games of the 2008 Summer Olympics. [USA Waterpolo: [http://www.usawaterpolo.org/SingleNews/08-08-10/Stellar_Defense_and_Azevedo_s_Five_Goals_Lead_Team_USA_To_8-4_Defeat_Of_China.aspx?ReturnURL=%2fHome.aspx Stellar Defense and Azevedo's Five Goals Lead Team USA To 8-4 Defeat Of China] (Retrieved 2008-08-10)] In the championship game, the USA team won the silver medal, defeated by Hungary.

Family

The Azevedo family is a water polo dynasty. His father, Ricardo Azevedo, played on the Brazilian national water polo team and coached him throughout his age group and high school career. Ricardo Azevedo was Head Water Polo Coach both of US National Team and Long Beach State University. Tony's sister Cassie is a two-time All-American water polo player at Long Beach State. Cassie also plays professionally in Italy after adjusting to a congenital health condition that temporarily sidetracked her water polo career [ [http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=57/bio// Tony Azevedo Bio NBC Olympics] ] .

References

External links

* [http://gostanford.collegesports.com/sports/m-wpolo/mtt/azevedo_tony00.html Azevedo's Official Stanford Athletics Biography]
* [http://tonyazevedo.mikasasports.com/ Tony Azevedo Biography on Mikasa Sports]
* [http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_846.htm Tony Azevedo's U.S. Olympic Team bio]