Merrill Moses
Merrill M. Moses[1] (born August 13, 1977) is an American Olympic silver medalist, three-time Olympian, and Pan American Games gold medalist water polo player.[2]
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Born | August 13, 1977 42) Harbor City, California, U.S. | (age|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early and personal life
Moses was born in Harbor City, California to Max and Marlene Moses, and is Jewish.[3][4][5][6] He lived in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, and attended Peninsula High School ('95).[2][4] He and his wife Laura have two children, Adrianna Nicole and Makenna Merrill, and live in Newbury Park, California.[2][4]
Water polo career
While he was in high school, Moses was the Bay League MVP and an All-California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section selection as a senior, and competed with the US Junior National Team.[7]
Moses attended Pepperdine University (09) and played goalkeeper in water polo for four seasons for the Pepperdine Waves from 1995-98.[2] He was All-American honorable mention in 1996, first team in 1997, and second team in 1998.[2] He was also All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation all four years, and 1997 MPSF Goalkeeper of the Year.[2][7] He helped lead Pepperdine to the 1997 NCAA championship.[2] He graduated from Pepperdine in 1999 with a degree in public relations.[2] Moses was inducted into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.[2]
He was the starting goalkeeper for Team USA at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics.[2] He was a goalkeeper on the United States men's national water polo team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.[8][9] In the championship game, the USA team won the silver medal, defeated by Hungary. He was named to the Olympic all-star team.[10] Moses also won gold medals with Team USA at the 2007, 2011, and 2015 Pan American Games.[2]
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.[9][10][11]
He is now Associate Head Coach in water polo at Pepperdine.[2]
Honors
In 2015 he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[12]
References
- State of California. California Birth Index, 1905–1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. Searchable at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/39461
- "PEPPERDINEWAVES.com Merrill Moses Bio: Pepperdine University Official Athletic Site: Men's Water Polo". Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- Gabe Friedman (July 31, 2016). "2016 Olympics: 7 Jewish American Olympians to watch in Rio". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
- Merrill Moses
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Merrill Moses". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
- "Highlights of Israeli and Jewish American athletes from Rio 2016" | Olympics | Cleveland Jewish News
- PEPPERDINEWAVES.com 2013 Hall of Fame Inductee: Merrill Moses: Pepperdine University Official Athletic Site: Men's Water Polo
- "USA Water Polo Men's National Team". Usawaterpolo.org. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
- "Burglars steal water polo player's Olympic silver medal in Manteca". San Jose Mercury News. AP. January 11, 2011. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
- Burkin, Christian (January 11, 2011). "Olympic medal theft stings family". Recordnet.com. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
- Wong, Lonnie (January 11, 2011). "Olympic Medal Stolen In Manteca; Silver medal belonging to water polo player taken – KTXL". Fox40.com. Retrieved January 12, 2011.