Rick Merlo

Rick Merlo
Merlo on U.S. National team in 2008
Personal information
BornAugust 5, 1982 (1982-08-05) (age 43)
Fresno, California, U.S.
Height191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight98 kg (216 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming, Water Polo
PositionDefender, Hole D
College teamUniversity of California, Irvine
Coached byTed Newland, Marc Hunt (UC Irvine)
Ted Schroeder ('08 Olympics)
Medal record
Men's water polo
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
2008 Beijing Team competition

Rick Lewis Merlo (born August 5, 1982) is an American water polo player who competed for the University of California Irvine and was a member of the United States men's national water polo team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics that won the team silver medal.[1]

High school

Merlo was born in Fresno, California on August 5, 1982. Taking up water polo, he followed his older brother Mark, who was an All-American in water polo and Academics at UC Irvine. From an athletic family, Curt, his younger brother was also on UC Irvine's water polo team. Rick Merlo was a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Champion at Buchanan High School in 1997 and 2000. He was a four-year letterman in both Water Polo and swimming at Buchanan, and led Buchanan to win the Section championship in Water Polo in his Freshman and Senior seasons. In his Senior year, he was high scorer for his section. He was a CIF Most Valuable Player, First-Team All-American, All-League, and All-CIF in 2000.[2][3][4]

University of California, Irvine

Like his brother Mark, Merlo attended University of California, Irvine[3] and played water polo under Ted Newland and Marc Hunt. He attended UC Irvine from around 2001-2005, majoring in Sociology. At U. Cal Irvine, Merlo was named a First-Team All-American, First-Team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), and a Scholar Athlete in 2005. In 2004, he was named a Third Team All-American and Second-Team All-MPSF.[3][5] In most of his play, Merlo was a Hole-D or Center Defender, guarding the Center position near the center of the goal, and on offense playing point, primarily in the center of the court.[6]

2008 Beijing Olympic silver medal

Merlo represented the United States in water polo in the Team competition at the September, 2008 Beijing Olympics where he was coached by USA Water Polo Hall of Fame Coach and Pepperdine Coach Terry Schroeder, a former Olympic silver medalist. The U.S. water polo team was originally ranked ninth going into the Olympics, but in an upset beat the highly rated team from Serbia in the semifinals prior to losing to Hungary in the final game for the gold and silver medals. Merlo scored two goals in Olympic play.[7] Schroeder would later coach the American Water Polo team at the 2012 London Olympics to an eighth-place finish. The American team lost to Hungary 14-10, but had tied the scored 9-9 going into the third quarter of play.[8][9][10]

In international competition,, Merlo competed at the 2003 World University Games in Daegu, South Korea where he placed 8th, and participated in the 2006 FINA World League Super Final. He was on the U.S. National Team at FINA World Championships in 2005, and 2007.[3][11]

Professional water polo

In 2005, Merlo played professional water polo for Genova Italy Nervi from 2006-7 and in 2007 played for Brazil.[3]

He served as an Assistant coach at Fresno Pacific University.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ USA Water Polo Men's National Team Archived 2011-06-08 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Athletic Hall of Fame". www.cusd.com. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Rick Merlo". Team USA. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  4. ^ ""2000 B'Nai Brith Nominees, Rick Merlo, Bio", The Fresno Bee, Fresno, California, May 8, 2000, pg. 28". Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  5. ^ "Legendary Water Polo Coach Ted Newland Passes Away at 91". Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  6. ^ "Biographs, Biography of Rick Merlo". Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  7. ^ ""Olympians: Valley Athletes Get Close-up View of Stars", The Fresno Bee, Fresno, California, September 16, 2008, pg. D2". Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  8. ^ Virgel, Steve (2008-06-30). "U.S. OLYMPIC MEN'S WATER POLO TEAM:". Daily Pilot. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  9. ^ "Swimswam Magazine Online, October 24, 2023, Pepperdine Coach Terry Schroeder Earns 500th Career Win". swimswam.com. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  10. ^ "Bishop, Greg, "Silver is Semi-Satisfying for U.S.", The Fresno Bee, Fresno, California, August 25, 2008, pg. C4". Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  11. ^ "UC Irvine Olympians, Rick Merlo". Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  12. ^ "Rick Merlo - Assistant - Men's Water Polo Coaches". Fresno Pacific University Athletics. Retrieved 2022-07-14.


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