Cal Water Polo: Olympian Ericka Lorenz Named to USA Water Polo Hall of Fame

Former Cal star Ericka Lorenz, who played on two medal-winning Olympic water polo teams and led the U.S. to a world championship in 2001, has been elected to the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.

Lorenz becomes the 17th former Cal player or coach named to the Hall. In the photo above she is on the left, alongside fellow former Golden Bear Heather Petri.

Lorenz played two seasons at Cal, totaling 81 goals in 2001 and ’02 to earn All-America honors.

She made her biggest splash with the national team, including as the youngest member, at age 19, of the U.S. team that competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the first to feature women’s water polo.

Lorenz scored six goals in Sydney, including one in the controversial 4-3 loss to host Australia in the gold-medal match.

She returned to play for the 2004 Olympic team that won a bronze medal.

Her greatest international performance came at the 2003 World Championship, where she scored four goals in the win over Italy in the finals to secure a gold medal. Two years earlier, Lorenz scored 14 goals at the 2001 Worlds.

A back injury sidelined her bid for a third straight Olympic team in 2008.

“Ericka had a wonderful career that can only be matched by a few over the last eight years,” USA coach Guy Baker said at the time. "Her contributions to our program have been tremendous, and everyone involved will always remember her performance in the 2003 World Championship final.”

Upon learning she was voted into the USA Hall of Fame, Lorenz initially joked that she didn’t want any attention that would cause her to have to speak in public.

“In reality, I am so honored and it's kind of amazing that USA Water Polo hasn't just forgotten about me. Even if they had, that would have been fine,” she said.

Cal coach Coralie Simmons was Lorenz’s teammate on the 2000 Olympic team.

"She was an anomaly in terms of just being so explosive and powerful, and having talent that the game maybe hadn't seen yet," Simmons said. "Whether it be her speed, her strength or her offensive capabilities, she was above and beyond where the game was at that point. She was one of the best shooters in the world and really fun to play with.”

Lorenz is part of a five-person 2021 Hall of Fame class that also includes former Stanford star and five-time Olympian Tony Azevedo.

Here’s a list of other former players and coaches in the Hall who have connections to Cal:

Other Cal inductees: Peter Asch, 1984; Peter Schnugg, 1987; Jon Svendsen, 1989; Nort Thornton, 1994; Pete Cutino, 1995; Steve Heaston, 1998; Maureen O’Toole, 2003; Kirk Everist, 2004; Maggi Kelly, 2004; Lynn Wittstock, 2004; Amber Drury, 2015; Richard Corso, 2015; Chris Humbert, 2018; Heather Petri, 2018; Gavin Arroyo, 2020; Elise Windes, 2020.

Cover photo of Ericka Lorenz, left, and former Cal teammate Heather Petri courtesy of Cal Athletics

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo