Cerritos College News Release

Photo of Brenda Villa NORWALK, Calif. - August 13, 2008 - The Cerritos College athletics is starting the new season with a great world-wide presence. Brenda Villa, women’s water polo assistant coach since 2004, is the captain for the U.S. national team in the Olympic Games now going on in Beijing, China.

Her career as a player is just stunning. Starting from being a four-time 1^st Team All-American when she played on the Bell Gardens High boys’ team, she led the Stanford University water polo team to the BCAA title in 2002 and became the 2003 and 2007 World Water Polo Champion. Of course she is not new to the Olympic odyssey. The third time U.S. Olympian was a member of the 2000 and 2004 Olympic team, winning a silver medal and a bronze medal in each game.

“We are so fortunate to have Brenda as a coach on our women’s water polo staff,” commends Dan Smith, Ph.D., instructional dean of Health, P.E., and Athletics Division. “When she talks, our young ladies listen. Due to her efforts, along with those of Coach Sergio Macias, our Women’s water polo team has consistently been one of the top programs in the state.”

The team is currently competing in preliminaries. The semifinals and the medal matches are slated for August 19 and 21.

Cerritos College serves as a comprehensive community college for southeastern Los Angeles County. Communities within the college’s district include Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, La Mirada, Norwalk, and portions of Bell Gardens, Lakewood, Long Beach, Santa Fe Springs and South Gate. Cerritos College offers degrees and certificates in more than 200 areas of study in nine divisions. Annually, more than 1,200 students successfully complete their course of studies, and enrollment currently nears 20,000 students. Visit Cerritos College online at www.cerritos.edu.

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Cerritos College

Releases 2008