Water Polo Coaching Staff
Head Coach Joe Tristan
Joe
Tristan enters his fifth season as the head men's and women's water
polo coach at Behrend, and is committed to athletic and academic
success for the program and his expectations will continue to climb.
In the fall of 2006, coach Tristan brought the Division III Eastern Championships to the Junker Center Pool for the first time in school history. The Behrend men’s team excelled in their home pool, grabbing third place, the highest finish at the championships to date.
Over the past four seasons, coach Tristan has landed eleven players on the Division III Eastern Championship All-Tournament Team. He has also guided two players to the Division III All-America Team. Anthony Spoto was named to the honorable mention All-America team in 2004 and to the second team in 2007, while Leandro Azevedo was selected as honorable mention in 2006. Tristan was also able to take Spoto to the USA Senior Men’s National ‘A’ Team Tryouts in Southern California. Under Tristan’s direction, Cara Ludwig was named to the 2005 CWPA Western Division All-Conference Team, as she became Behrend's first water polo player to receive the honor. In 2007, five women’s water polo players were named to the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches All-Academic team.
Coach Tristan is a member of USA
Water Polo where he is currently a Level 3 coach. He is also a member of
the American Water Polo Coaches Association.
Tristan joined the Behrend Lions after leading the women’s club water polo
program at Eastern Michigan University. He also was an assistant coach for
the Great Lakes Water Polo Club in Ann Arbor, MI. At EMU he coached a pair
of all-conference players and directed the team to earn all-academic honors.
From 1997-2002, Tristan was the head boy’s junior varsity coach for Huron
High School.
A native of Southern California,
Tristan played water polo and swam for Earl Warren High School. He also
played water polo for Tulare Water Polo Club and for Eastern Michigan in
1995-96. In 2000, Tristan competed and finished twenty-second in the United
States Olympic swimming trials in the 200 meter freestyle. From 1998-2000
Tristan was ranked in the FINA Top 20 and the top 100 in the World in the
200 meter and 100 meter freestyle events. He currently is EMU’s record
holder in the 800 freestyle relay. Tristan was a vital part of a pair of EMU
Mid-American Conference Swimming and Diving Championship teams.
Tristan also serves as the assistant men's and women's swimming coach and as
an instructor in the health and physical education department.
To e-mail Coach Joe Tristan: jpt12@psu.edu