Melissa Jon Seidemann (born June 26, 1990) is an American water polo player. She won the National Championship with

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 2011. She also won the gold medal with the

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in the

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

and

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

."Melissa Seidemann"
Stanford University athlete profile at GoStanford.com

Career

High school

A 2008 graduate of College Park High School in Pleasant Hill, California, Seidemann competed on their water polo team all four years of high school, and competed for three years on the swim team. She also played soccer as a preparation. Seidemann captained the water polo team in 2007 and 2008, and helped lead her team to a DFAL title as a senior, then being named a NISCA All-American, and Team MVP in 2007. She then went on to be a member of the U.S. Youth National Team in 2006, which won the gold medal at the Pan-American Junior Games, being the leading scorer in the tournament with 20 goals. Seidemann was also a member of the Youth National Team, going undefeated in Sydney, Australia the summer of 2007. She was also on the team that competed in the 2008 Global Championships. Seidemann earned All-America honors at the U.S. Water Polo 20/U Nationals.

College

Seidemann joined the Stanford University women's water polo team in 2009. As a freshman, she led the team with 59 goals, scoring at least four goals in a game on five separate occasions. She led Stanford in scoring again the following year, and was nominated to the ACWPC All-America First Team in 2010. In 2011, Seidemann had her third-straight 50-goal season, finishing second on Stanford with 51 goals. She also scored a goal in the NCAA Championship title game, which then Stanford won. Seidemann took a leave of absence from Stanford in 2012 so she could train with the U.S. national water polo team.

International

Seidemann first started playing for the U.S. national team in 2010. She scored three goals in that year's FINA World League Super Final and two goals in the FINA World Cup, helping the U.S. win both events."Melissa Seidemann"
National Team water polo profile at USAwaterpolo.org The following year, the U.S. won the FINA World League Super Final again, with Seidemann scoring twice. She scored 11 goals in the Pan American Games, ranking third on the team, and the U.S. won the gold medal and qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The U.S. went on to win gold at the Olympics as well."U.S. women win water polo gold"
espn.go.com. August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2012. She was also part of the 2016 US olympic team, winning her second Olympic gold medal that year.

Personal

Seidemann graduated Stanford University in 2013 with a degree in psychology. She has one older sister, Lauren, and a younger sister, Natalie. Lauren is the women's water polo head coach at College Park High School in Pleasant Hill, California, and Natalie is currently a center on the UC Irvine women's water polo team.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seidemann, Melissa 1990 births Living people American female water polo players Water polo centre backs Stanford Cardinal women's water polo players People from Hoffman Estates, Illinois Sportspeople from Illinois Water polo players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in water polo World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo Water polo players at the 2015 Pan American Games Water polo players at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in water polo Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Water polo players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics