University of the Pacific Women's Water Polo

Graham enters his ninth season at the helm of the Pacific men's water polo program, and fifth as women's head coach in 2016-17. On the men's side, Graham has built the Tigers into one of the nation's elite programs. Entering 2016, the Tigers have spent the last 90 consecutive weeks ranked in the Top 10, including 72 weeks ranked in the Top Five. In 2015, the Tigers matched the programs best-ever record, finishing 23-5 while spending the entire season ranked in the top five of the polls. Pacific was ranked fourth in the final CWPA Top 20 poll, after peaking for four weeks at No. 2. Pacific posted 19 wins over ranked teams in 2015, with zero losses to teams ranked outside of the top three in the final poll. Pacific boasted a program-best six All-Americans in 2015, with 11 players named to the MPSF All-Academic team. Graham led Pacific to unprecedented success in 2013 as the Tigers turned in a program-best 23-5 record, claimed its first MPSF regular season crown, and advanced to the NCAA National Championship Game, pushing USC to overtime before falling, 12-11. Pacific reached the No. 1 spot in the CWPA polls for the first time in program history on November 6, 2013, following Pacific's 10-6 win at Chris Kjeldsen Pool over then No. 1 USC. The win, which came in front of a school-record crowd of 1,337, was Graham's first over a top-ranked team while at Pacific. The Tigers spent all of 2013 ranked in the top five, including four weeks at the top spot. Pacific has remained in the top 10 of the polls every week of the last five seasons. Balazs Erdelyi, a senior in 2013-14, repeated as the winner of the prestigious Peter J. Cutino Award, an honor given annually to the nation's top water polo player, becoming the fourth player in history to take the trophy back-to-back. Pacific finished 2014 ranked eighth in the final poll following a 16-12 season. The Tigers posted seven wins over ranked teams, and fell just once to a team ranked outside the top 10, and suffered zero losses to teams outside the top 12. During Graham's tenure, nine student-athletes have earned a total of 24 All-America accolades. Erdelyi and Goran Tomasevic - a 2011 Cutino Award Finalist - each garnered All-America honors in each of their four seasons. Alex Obert, a three-time All-American at Pacific, was a Cutino Finalist in 2015, and earned a spot on the United States Senior National Team in 2014, participating in a variety of international events including the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Graham spent the summer of 2012 in London, England, assisting the U.S. Men's Water Polo team at the 2012 Olympics. Conducting statistical analysis on every squad competing at the Olympics, Graham provided the U.S. coaching staff with in-depth breakdowns of each opponent's tendencies. He joined John Mayberry, an assistant professor of mathematics at Pacific, to author "Measures of Tactical Efficiency in Water Polo," a study published in the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports. The Tigers finished their 2012 campaign at No. 6 in the final Collegiate Water Polo Association Poll. After being picked to finish ninth and outside of the MPSF Tournament field, Pacific placed seventh in the conference with a 3-5 record before taking sixth at the conference tournament. The Tigers ascended to as high as fifth nationally twice during the season, first after upsetting then-No. 4 California at the SoCal Tournament in October and then after winning three consecutive MPSF matches to open the month of November. Junior attacker Balazs Erdelyi became the first player in program history to be named the MPSF Player of the Year while three other Tigers received all-conference honors. Pacific opened its 2011 season ranked fifth in the nation, the highest preseason ranking for the program since 2006. The Tigers season was marked by eight overtime matches, three of which needed sudden-victory periods to decide a victor. All told, Pacific saw 12 of its matches decided by a single goal. At the MPSF Tournament, Pacific claimed its best finish in five seasons, taking sixth after falling in sudden victory to UC Irvine in the tournaments fifth-place game. Goran Tomasevic earned his third consecutive All-America honor to pace three Pacific selections. In Grahams third season, he led the Tigers to a 17-11 mark in 2010, including a 4-4 record in MPSF matches, good for a share of fifth place. Pacific also won an MPSF Tournament game for the first time since 2006 when they beat No. 9 Peppedine 13-5 in the seventh-place game. Balazs Erdelyi was named the MPSF Newcomer of the Year while three Tigers were named All-America selections. At seasons end, Graham received USA Water Polos Monte Nitzkowski Distinguished Mens Coaching Award. On June 12, 2012, Graham was named head coach for Pacific's women's water polo program, becoming the first individual in school history to coach both teams simultaneously. In four seasons with the women's team, Graham has led the program to a 62-60 record through 2015-16. The Tigers finished the 2016 season ranked No. 15 in the polls, after posting nine wins over Top 25 opponents. The Tigers advanced to the Golden Coast Conference championship game, before falling just short of a bid to the NCAA Tournament with a sudden-death overtime loss, 10-9, to San Diego State. Karolina Hlavata earned All-American honors in 2016, one of three Pacific players to earn All-Golden Coast Conference honors. The Tigers placed nine members on the GCC All-Academic Team. In 2015, the Tigers finished 16-12 overall, and second in the Golden Coast Conference at 5-1. Pacifics 5-1 record was the best conference mark in the history of the womens program. The Tigers were ranked 16th in the final CWPA Top 20 poll, the second-highest finish in program history. The Tigers posted a nine-match win streak and seven wins over ranked teams on the year. Pacific went unbeaten versus unranked teams and suffered just two losses to teams ranked outside the Top 12. Five Tigers earned All-Golden Coast Conference honors, including co-Player of the Year Anna Kertes. Kertes and Michele Relton was named First Team All-GCC, while Taylor Adair and Gracie Smith each earned Second Team All-GCC honors. Karolina Hlavata and Rachel Krieger earned spots on the GCC All-Freshman Team. In 2014, Taylor Adair (First Team) and Gracie Smith (Second Team) earned All-GCC honors while both were named All-Americans. Pacific posted a 14-17 season while All-American goalkeeper Michele Relton sat out to redshirt for 2015. Pacific finished 2-4 in their first season in the GCC, but rallied to take third place at the GCC Tournament with a resounding 11-4 win over No. 17 Santa Clara. Pacific posted a 16-16 record in Grahams first season at the helm of the womens program, finishing No. 20 in the final CWPA Top 20 poll. The .500 finish was the Tigers third as program.   Prior to joining Pacific, Graham patrolled the deck for five seasons at Santa Rosa Junior College, where he built the Bear Cubs into a state power. His career 86-50-1 record included a school-best third-place finish at the California State Championships in 2007, as well as a Big 8 Conference title the same year. For his efforts, Graham was named the 2007 Big 8 Conference Coach of the Year. It was his second consecutive Coach of the Year honor as he won the same award in 2006 after taking the Bear Cubs to the Northern California championship. He was awarded Northern California Coach of the Year in 2006, as well. From 2005-07, Graham served as an assistant coach for the United States National Youth team. He has also been the head coach for the National 2-Meter Development Camp and Holiday Camp held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. In addition, Graham has coached at the annual Camp of Champions in Long Beach, Calif., and was instrumental in starting water polo clubs in three different cities in Sonoma County. Graham began his playing career at Santa Rosa, where he played for two years. His stellar play garnered Honorable Mention All-America and All-Northern California honors in 1999. Graham spent his final two years at the University of Redlands, suiting up for the Bulldogs from 2001-02. During his time there, Redlands never lost a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) game, winning the league championship both years. Graham was a two-time Academic All-American and earned All-SCIAC honors as a senior. Graham resides in Stockton with his wife, Kelly, and their daughter, Maggie.  

Gullikson was a defender on the Pacific mens water polo from 2009-2010, scoring 65 goals in two seasons with the Orange & Black. He was second on the team in scoring as a junior, and one of five 20-goal scorers as a senior. In two years, he also racked up 52 assists and 38 steals. In 2009, Gullikson was named the MPSF Mikasa Co-Player of the Week on Nov. 23 for his performance against No. 6 Long Beach State, which also netted him NCAA Player of the Week honors, as he tallied a hat trick with two assists and two steals. After he graduated from Pacific in the spring of 2011 with a degree in sports pedagogy, Gullikson served as the head coach for the boys and girls water polo teams at Justin-Siena High School in Napa. He was also the Olympic Development Program Head Coach for the Central Zone 10th grade and younger, and the Founder/ Director of the Bangarang Water Polo Club. I look forward to working with Coach Graham and Coach (Kendra) Klein more closely. Having played for Coach Graham I understand the commitment, sacrifice and loyalty expected to be part of the Pacific  Water Polo Programs. We have a lot of talent on both men's and women's side, and I can't wait to get started. GCC Water Polo Semifinals

Hill was named Texas Girls Water Polo Coach of the Year in 2015 after her team captured third place in the state tournament and in 2014 after her team was crowned champions. Hill was also the head coach for the Southwest Zone Girls Olympic Development Program and was named top developmental coach at the 2015 ODP National Championships. Prior to Pacific, Hill spent two years working with Viper Pigeon Water Polo Club and Dirty Bay Aquatics to grow water polo in her native town of Houston, TX. In 2014, she received the Doc Hunkler Distinguished coaching award for the Southwest Zone.   As a player at the University of Maryland, Hill scored 13 goals with 22 assists from 2009 to 2012. She helped the Terrapins to 67 wins in four years, including a 17-6 final season in 2012, in which the Terps peaked at No. 10 in the CWPA Poll. Hill remained at Maryland for her senior year after the water polo program was eliminated and completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry in 2013. She is a graduate of the NCAA Womens Coaches Academy Class #39 (2016) and currently pursuing a masters in Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences at Pacific. In addition to her duties at Pacific, Hill will be working with coach James Grahams company Water Polo Analytics. GCC Water Polo Semifinals