By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer
They learned to play water polo in the same pool from the same coach, played together at the same high school and at the same university, and now they will represent the United States together.
 |
| KERN: College Player of Year again |
Sean Kern (Punahou ’97) of Manoa and Brandon Brooks (Punahou ’99) of Wai‘alae Iki this week were named to the USA Water Polo national team.
Kern is a veteran of Team USA and played in the Olympic Games last September in Australia. Brooks was chosen for the first time. "I’m very excited," Brooks said. "We have finals at UCLA next week and I’m getting everything in order before we leave."
Team USA will play the Canadian National Team in Calgary in a three-game series Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The games are a warm-up for the World Championship Qualification Tournament in La Romana, Dominican Republic, March 25-31.
Team USA must finish either first or second at that event to qualify for the FINA World Championships, July 19-30, in Fukuoka, Japan.
Brooks and Kern learned to play water polo as elementary school students at Punahou from longtime Punahou coach and former UCLA All-American Ken Smith. They were high school All-Americans and among the nation’s most highly recruited players.
"They’re both very special young men, intelligent and very talented athletes who have worked tremendously hard to get to where they are," Smith said.
 |
| BROOKS: All-America goalie last season |
Brooks, a first-team All-American last fall as a sophomore, got his chance to make Team USA when the top two goalies, Dan Hackett and Sean Nolan, retired after the 2000 Olympics.
"I’m getting more confident," he said. "We drive over two hours almost every day after classes to practice two hours at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach. It’s pretty intense."
Brooks is 6 feet 7 with a wingspan to match. He weighs nearly 230 pounds.
He also played basketball for UCLA last season and said he wants to play again next season.
Kern, 6-6 and 225, was named college water polo Player of the Year for the second straight year in December after he led UCLA to its second straight NCAA championship. His college eligibility is completed and he has a year of units left to earn his degree.
"Between classes and water polo and the commute, our life is pretty full," Kern said. He and Brooks share an apartment in Los Angeles with Adam Wright, another UCLA alum and national team member.
[back to top] |
