Kelly Kristen Rulon (born August 16, 1984) 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. She won a gold medal with the United States at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in the water polo competition. She is also a bronze medalist from 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 ...

. Her position is driver. Rulon is a two-time medalist (one gold and silver) at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Education

University of San Diego High School Cathedral Catholic High School (CCHS) is a private coeducational Catholic college preparatory day school in San Diego, California, serving grades 9–12. It is operated by the Diocese of San Diego. In 1970, Cathedral Girls High School, a girl ...

, Kelly Rulon was a four-time first-team all-league, all-city and All-

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 ...

selection, as well as

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

of her team each year she played. As a

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 2003, Rulon was second on 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 ...

with 27 goals, 26 assists and 27 steals, and scored once in the Bruins' 4-3 victory over

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

in the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship; she finished with six post-season goals. Returning from the Olympics in her 2005 season, Rulon led her team in scoring with 70 goals, as well as multi-goal games (22), assists (48), steals (72) and post-season goals (12). She led the Bruins to the NCAA title with a 33-0 record and was named a 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 by the American Water Polo Coaches Association. When UCLA defeated Stanford University in the NCAA final, Rulon, who scored three goals in the semifinal win over Hawaii, led UCLA in scoring for the season and post-season. As a junior, Rulon was selected the

of the 2006 NCAA Tournament after leading UCLA to its second consecutive and fourth overall NCAA title. She scored 11 goals in the three games to set a new NCAA Tournament record. In the 9-8 championship victory over the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, Rulon scored four goals and set up the game-winner by drawing an ejection foul with four seconds to play. During her senior year, Rulon had 70 goals, totaled a team-high 52 assists and team-leading 42 steals, and recorded seven blocks and 26 earned exclusions, both totals ranking second-highest on the club. She scored in 26 matches and posted 16 multi-goal efforts. Then she registered a season-high six goals against Loyola Marymount (March 31). Another highlight was the five goals she scored twice – versus Santa Clara (Feb. 24) and UC San Diego (March 16). Rulan had six four-goal performances and had netted 19 goals in a four-game span. She and her team-mates led UCLA to the school's 100th NCAA National Championship (a new record). In 2007, Rulon was named winner of the

Peter J. Cutino Award The Peter J. Cutino Award, named after former college water polo player and UC Berkeley coach Peter J. Cutino, is considered the most prestigious individual award in American collegiate water polo. It is given annually to the top male and female pl ...

, which is given to the college Player-of-the-Year in water polo. She joined other

Coralie Simmons Coralie Denise Simmons (born March 1, 1977) is an American water polo player, who won the silver medal at the Water Polo at the 2000 Summer Olympics, 2000 Summer Olympics. In 2001, she won the Peter J. Cutino Award, presented annually to the top ...

(2001),

Natalie Golda Natalie Golda (now Benson, born December 28, 1981) is a former American water polo player and currently the head coach of the newly formed Fresno State Bulldogs water polo team to begin competition in 2018. Considered one of the greatest women's ...

(2005), and

Courtney Mathewson Courtney Lynn Kaiulani Mathewson (born September 14, 1986) is an American water polo player, part of the US team that won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics. She played water polo for the University of California, ...

(2008), as the school's four UCLA female

winners, all coached by

Adam Krikorian Adam Krikorian (born July 22, 1974) is an American water polo coach and the head coach of the United States women's national water polo team. He coached the team to gold medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 Olympic Games, 2016 Summer Olympics ...

. .

International and Olympics

Rulon received

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: ...

honors at the 1999 Junior Olympics and was five-time Junior Olympics First-Team All-American. She played in the 2002 Junior Pan American Championships, where she was the tournament's leading scorer. In 2004, Rulon

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 ...

to play in the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

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 ...

. She scored four goals in the Olympics including the game-winning goal against Hungary in the opening game. The US women won the bronze medal by defeating Australia. After the 2005 collegiate season, Rulon played for the U.S. National Team that won a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

in the 2005 FINA World Championships in Canada. During 2009 FINA World Championship in Rome, which saw US women team winning the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

, Kelly Rulon scored last two goals of the final match against Canada. She was also awarded of the ''Gold Cap'' as tournament's best player. Kelly currently trains with the USA Water Polo National Team and in October 2011 helped lead Team USA to the gold medal at the Pan American games. In 2012, Rulon played in the

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She assisted the US women's team win the

, against Spain. The final score of the final match in London against Spain was 8-5.

Clubs

Rulon left UCLA after 2007 College season for moving into Europe. In the same year she joined the A.S.D Roma team playing in the Italian Women's Waterpolo Championship. With A.S.D. Roma she won that year the LEN Cup, as best scorer of final match in Padua. Rulon played 2008/09 season for Nervi, being the scoring leader in the Italian Championship (81 goals) After her coming back in Rome she scored 58 goals in the 2009/10 season.

Awards

In 2020, Rulon was inducted into the

USA Water Polo Hall of Fame The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguou ...

. She will be inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame as a member of the 2023 class.

Personal life

Rulon majored in history at UCLA. Rulon's younger sister, Katie, was also a member of the UCLA water polo team.

References

External links

*
Kelly Rulon: UCLA Team biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rulon, Kelly 1984 births Living people Water polo players from San Diego American female water polo players Water polo drivers Water polo players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in water polo Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in water polo World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo Water polo players at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in water polo UCLA Bruins women's water polo players Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games University of San Diego High School alumni 21st-century American sportswomen