Oct. 28, 2005

VILLANOVA, Pa. - In his first season with the Wildcats, head water polo coach Damon Newman is looking forward to the beginning of the season and trying to lead Villanova back to the MAAC Tournament. The Wildcats placed second in the conference last season.

"The current team has three seniors and we are hoping to be very competitive in the MAAC," Newman said. "The team is trying to get back to the championship game once again this season and receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. My expectation for the team is definitely to compete well in the conference and try to get to the national tournament."

Newman is in his first season as the coach of the Wildcats after spending the last four years as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's water polo teams at Iona. The women's team won 49 matches during his last three years with the program and was the 2003 regular season MAAC champions with a record of 19-6 and perfect 5-0 conference mark. The Gaels were nationally ranked throughout the 2003 season and were ranked as high as 13th in the nation.

In 2005, Newman helped lead Iona to a 14-9 record and a third-place MAAC finish. During his final two years with the team, he was also the head coach of the water polo and swimming teams at Wilton High School.

During his collegiate career, Newman was a four-year standout for Iona and served as the team's primary two-meter defender. He became just the second person in team history to be a three-time team captain and finished his career ranked second on the school's all-time list with 115 kick-outs. Despite being known for his defensive skills, Newman also was ranked 30th in team history with 142 career points after scoring 68 goals and accumulating 74 assists. He graduated from Iona in 2001 with a degree in Criminal Justice.

Newman, a native of Pennsylvania, has over 15 years of experience as a water polo player and coach. He was actively involved with the U.S. Water Polo Hudson Valley team. He has competed in the Junior Olympics, Junior Nationals and Senior Nationals.

At the scholastic level, Newman was a two-time all-state water polo player at Wissahickon High School. He was also a product of Dan Sharidan's Young Athletes of America program in the Philadelphia area. He grew up in Lower Gwynedd and recently moved back to the area.