Annika Madsen Dries (born February 10, 1992) 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 the national championship with Stanford University in 2011, and went on to win the gold medal with the United States in the 2012 Summer Olympics. She stands at tall."Annika Dries"
. gostanford.com. Retrieved August 9, 2012.

Career

High school

Dries played water polo for Laguna Beach High School in

Laguna Beach, California Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation efforts, and a ...

, before graduating in 2009. She was the team's captain in her junior and senior years. She also started playing for the U.S. junior national team in 2006 and was named a Junior Olympics All-American in 2007 and 2008.

College

Dries enrolled in Stanford University and played on the water polo team in 2010 and 2011. As a freshman, she was tied for third on the team with 35 goals. The following season, she led the team with 65 goals and scored five times in the national championship game against California, which Stanford won. She was named MVP of the NCAA championships."Annika Dries"
. usawaterpolo.org. Retrieved August 9, 2012. She also won the Peter J. Cutino Award as the nation's top female collegiate player. Dries took a leave of absence from school in 2012 so she could train with the U.S. national water polo team.

International

In 2010, Dries helped the U.S. win the FINA World League Super Final and the FINA World Cup. The following year, she scored eight goals in the Pan American Games, as the U.S. won the tournament and qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The U.S. went on to win the gold medal at the Olympics, as well.

Personal

Dries was born in

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

(a neighborhood in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

), to Eric Dries and Pamela Madsen. She plays

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

. She is an advocate for breast cancer awareness and research.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dries, Annika 1992 births Living people American female water polo players Water polo centre forwards Water polo players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in water polo Water polo players at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games medalists in water polo Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Stanford Cardinal women's water polo players Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Sportspeople from La Jolla, San Diego