Merrill M. Moses (born August 13, 1977) is a United States Olympic silver medalist, three-time Olympian, and three-time Pan American Games gold medalist

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 ...

goalkeeper. He played college water polo for

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...

, where he was an All-American and helped lead the team to the 1997 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship. Moses is now Associate Head Coach in water polo at Pepperdine.

Early and personal life

Moses was born in Harbor City, California, to Max, an orthopedic surgeon, and Marlene Moses. He is Jewish. He grew up in

Rancho Palos Verdes Rancho Palos Verdes (Spanish for "Green Sticks Ranch") is a coastal city located in Los Angeles County, California atop the bluffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, neighboring other cities in the Palos Verdes Hills, including Palos Verdes Est ...

, California. He is an Eagle Scout. He has five older siblings. Moses has a six-foot-eight-inch

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. He and his wife Laura have three children, Adrianna Nicole, Makenna Merrill, and Brooklyn Ann. The family lives in Newbury Park, California.

Water polo career

High school

Moses attended Peninsula High School ('95). As a teenager, he switched from football to

, and moved to goalkeeper in his sophomore year. While he was in high school, Moses was the

Bay League The Bay League is a high school athletic conference in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California affiliated with the CIF Southern Section. Member schools * Culver City High School * Mira Costa High School * Palos Verdes High School * P ...

MVP and an All-

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have a ...

Southern Section selection as a senior, and competed with the US Junior National Team. He was named a first team All-American his junior and senior years.

College

Moses attended

('09) on a full scholarship and was the starting goalkeeper in water polo for four seasons for the

Pepperdine Waves The Pepperdine Waves are the athletics teams of Pepperdine University, located outside the city of Malibu, California. They compete at the Division I level of the NCAA. The school is a member of the West Coast Conference for the majority of its ...

from 1995-98. In 1995 he made 165 saves. He was All-American honorable mention in 1996 (when he made 218 saves), first team in 1997 (207 saves), and second team in 1998 (224 saves). He was also All-

Mountain Pacific Sports Federation The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the western United States, although it now has members as far east as Pennsylvania. The conference participates at the NCAA Division I ...

all four years, and 1997 MPSF Goalkeeper of the Year. He helped lead Pepperdine to the 1997 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, and was named Conference Player of the Year, game and team MVP, and all-NCAA Tournament first team. He graduated from Pepperdine in 1999 with a degree in

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Team USA

He first became a member of the USA Men's National Water Polo Team in 1997. Moses was the starting goalkeeper for Team USA at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics. He was a goalkeeper on the team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, making 70 saves in the tournament. In the

championship game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

, the USA team won the silver medal, defeated by Hungary. He was named to the Olympic All-Star Team. In December 2010, Moses' Olympic silver medal was stolen by thieves when his parents' house was burglarized. The thieves also stole both a ring and a watch that he had been given by the

US Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

. Moses was also on Team USA at the

London 2012 Olympic Games 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 ...

, at which he made 63 saves and the team came in 8th. He was also on Team USA at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, at which the team came in 10th. Moses won gold medals with Team USA at the 2007 (30 saves), 2011 (36 saves; stopping over 65% of shots), and 2015 Pan American Games. He played at the Water Polo World Championships in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011,

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, and 2015, with his top finish being 4th in 2009. Moses won a bronze medal at the 2003 FINA World League Super Final, a silver medal at the 2008 FINA World League Super Final (in which he made 37 saves), and a silver medal at the 2016 FINA World League Super Final.

International

Moses played for Club Olivar of Zaragosa, Spain, in the Spanish professional league in 2000-01. From 2008-09 he played professionally for VK Šibenik,

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, winning the Yellow Cap Award for being the most consistent player in the

Croatian First League of Water Polo The Croatian First League of Water Polo ( hr, Prva hrvatska vaterpolo liga) is the top water polo league in Croatia. The league was formed in 1991 with the dissolution of the Yugoslav First League of Water Polo and its first season started in 1 ...

, and from 2009-11 he played for Sportiva Nervi, Italy. He won the Best Goalkeeper Award in the 2006

Swimming Union of the Americas The Swimming Union of the Americas is the swimming continental association for the Americas (i.e. it oversees international aquatics competition within North and South America). It is commonly referred to as ASUA in English, or by its Spanish and Fr ...

(ASUA) Cup. Moses was named the 2007 Premier League Best Goalkeeper while playing for the

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a private social club and athletic club in New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Park South in Manhattan, and Traver ...

, as well as MVP of the 2010 USA Water Polo Men's National Championships.

Coaching

In 2012 he served as co-Head Coach at Pepperdine University. Moses is now Associate Head Coach in water polo at Pepperdine.

Honors

Moses was inducted into the New York Athletic Club Hall of Fame in 2009, and into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013. In 2015 he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. In 2018 he was inducted into the Jewish Sports Heritage Association Hall of Fame in New York.

References

External links

* * * *Wayne Bean (May 28, 2008)
"One on one with Olympic water polo hopeful Merrill Moses,"
''The Malibu Times''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Moses, Merrill 1977 births Living people American male water polo players Water polo goalkeepers Jewish American sportspeople Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in water polo Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in water polo People from Harbor City, Los Angeles People from Newbury Park, California People from Rancho Palos Verdes, California Pepperdine Waves athletes Sportspeople from Los Angeles Sportspeople from Ventura County, California Water polo players at the 2007 Pan American Games Water polo players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2011 Pan American Games Water polo players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2015 Pan American Games Water polo players at the 2016 Summer Olympics American water polo coaches Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games 21st-century American Jews