Moriah van Norman
Encyclopedia
Moriah van Norman (born May 30, 1984, in San Diego, California
) is an American water polo
player for the University of Southern California
, who won the Peter J. Cutino Award
in 2004, recognized as the best female collegiate player in the nation. Her position is two-meter offense (center forward).
n honors at University of San Diego High School
in San Diego. She was named California Interscholastic Federation
player of the year and league most valuable player in her senior
season.
van Norman earned All-America honors in her 2003 freshman
season after leading her USC Trojans
team in scoring with 65 goals. She scored three or more goals in five matches including five against UC Berkeley and three against UCLA. As a 2004 sophomore, van Norman finished second on the team in scoring with 58 goals, leading her team to win the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship
. She became the third player in USC women's water polo history to win the Peter J. Cutino Award as the nation's top collegiate women's player and the last person to receive the award from legendary former Cal coach Pete Cutino, who died in September 2004. In 2005, van Norman was third on the team in scoring with 40 goals in her junior season. In her final season, USC, with a season record of 27-3, was top-seeded at the NCAA championships, but van Norman's six goals in the 3 tournament matches were not enough. She picked up her third ejection with 5:15 left in the final game, and sat out the remainder of the game on the bench as UCLA won, 9-8. van Norman racked up 215 goals in her four years with USC, third all-time in Trojan history.
World Water Polo Championships.
At the 2008 China Summer Olympic games
, she and the American team lost 8-9 in the Championship game to the Netherlands and took home the silver medal.
In June 2009, van Norman was named to the USA water polo women's senior national team
for the 2009 FINA World Championships.
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
) is an American water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
player for the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, who won the Peter J. Cutino Award
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...
in 2004, recognized as the best female collegiate player in the nation. Her position is two-meter offense (center forward).
High school and USC
van Norman earned four-time high school All-AmericaAll-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n honors at University of San Diego High School
University of San Diego High School
The University of San Diego High School , also known as The University High School or "Uni", was a Catholic, co-educational, college preparatory secondary school located in San Diego, California...
in San Diego. She was named California Interscholastic Federation
California Interscholastic Federation
The California Interscholastic Federation is the governing body for high school sports in the state of California. It mirrors similar governing bodies in other states; however, it differs from some of the others in that it covers most high schools in the state of California, both public and...
player of the year and league most valuable player in her senior
Twelfth grade
Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...
season.
van Norman earned All-America honors in her 2003 freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
season after leading her USC Trojans
USC Trojans
The USC Trojans are the athletic teams representing the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the Trojans, the women's athletic teams are referred to as either the Trojans or Women of Troy...
team in scoring with 65 goals. She scored three or more goals in five matches including five against UC Berkeley and three against UCLA. As a 2004 sophomore, van Norman finished second on the team in scoring with 58 goals, leading her team to win the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship
NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship
The NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship has existed since the 2001 season. Three conferences have teams competing in women's water polo, the Collegiate Water Polo Association, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference...
. She became the third player in USC women's water polo history to win the Peter J. Cutino Award as the nation's top collegiate women's player and the last person to receive the award from legendary former Cal coach Pete Cutino, who died in September 2004. In 2005, van Norman was third on the team in scoring with 40 goals in her junior season. In her final season, USC, with a season record of 27-3, was top-seeded at the NCAA championships, but van Norman's six goals in the 3 tournament matches were not enough. She picked up her third ejection with 5:15 left in the final game, and sat out the remainder of the game on the bench as UCLA won, 9-8. van Norman racked up 215 goals in her four years with USC, third all-time in Trojan history.
Career
van Norman was a member of the U.S. Junior National Team, won gold at the 2005 FINA Junior World Championships and silver at the 2003 FINA Junior World Championships. She also played with the 2002 Pan-American Games championship team. van Norman is a member of the U.S. national team, which won silver at the 2005 FINAFina
Fina may refer to:*Fina, a character in the Skies of Arcadia video game*FINA, the International Swimming Federation*FINA, the North American Forum on Integration...
World Water Polo Championships.
At the 2008 China Summer Olympic games
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, she and the American team lost 8-9 in the Championship game to the Netherlands and took home the silver medal.
In June 2009, van Norman was named to the USA water polo women's senior national team
United States women's national water polo team
The United States women's national water polo team represents the United States in international women's water polo competitions and friendly matches. It is one of the leading teams in the world since the late 1990s....
for the 2009 FINA World Championships.
Personal
van Norman majored in English, and graduated from USC.- Her sister Sarah plays for USC and is in her senior year as a two-meter player. Her brother Jordan played water polo for USC and more recently Whittier College.