Amber Val Stachowski (born March 14, 1983) is an American

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

player for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

and the U.S. National Team, who won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

at the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. Her position is center defender.

High school and college

At Capistrano Valley High School, Stachowski was a three-time First-Team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n (1999–2001) and 2001

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have s ...

Player of the Year. In club play she was a member of the 2001 Golden West team that won the Winter Junior Nationals, and was named

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

of the tournament. As a UCLA

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

in 2002, Stachowski scored a goal in her first collegiate game against

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Education In the United States * University of California system * University of Charleston, West Virginia * University of Chicago, Illinois * University of Cincinnati, Ohio * Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey (''defunct ...

, and recorded first collegiate career hat trick against

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

. In her first year, she had 29 goals on 43 attempts.

International and Olympics

At the fourth FINA Junior World Women's Water Polo Championships in 2001, UCLA freshman Amber Stachowski led the US to a gold medal. Stachowski led the US team with four goals in the 10-9 overtime victory over Australia. Stachowski

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

during the 2003–2004 season to train with the United States National Team and play in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens, Greece Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. But in 2003, Stachowski sustained a concussion in a motor vehicle accident on a Los Angeles freeway, which kept her out of the water for a few weeks. She recovered and qualified for the Olympic team 6 months later. After Team USA earned first place in the 2003 Pan American Games and 2003 FINA World Championships,USOC Player Biography
/ref> Stachowski scored two goals in the Olympics in games against Russia and Australia, helping win the bronze medal for the United States.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stachowski, Amber 1983 births Living people American female water polo players Water polo players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in water polo UCLA Bruins women's water polo players Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in water polo Water polo players at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games 21st-century American sportswomen

High school and college

International and Olympics

See also

References

External links