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Merrill M. Moses (born August 13, 1977) is a United States Olympic silver medalist, three-time Olympian, and three-time Pan American Games gold medalist water polo goalkeeper. He played college water polo for Pepperdine University, where he was an All-American and helped lead the team to the 1997 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship. Moses is now associate head coach in water polo at Pepperdine.
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| Born | August 13, 1977 (age 47)[1] Harbor City, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Rancho Palos Verdes, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Pepperdine University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 215 lb (98 kg)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Water polo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University team | Pepperdine Waves | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Moses was born in Harbor City, California, to Max, an orthopedic surgeon, and Marlene Moses. He is Jewish.[3][4][5][2][6][7] He grew up in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.[8] He is an Eagle Scout.[9][10] He has five older siblings.[11] Moses has a six-foot-eight-inch wingspan.[12]
He and his wife Laura have three children, Adrianna Nicole, Makenna Merrill, and Brooklyn Ann.[8][13] The family lives in Newbury Park, California.[8]
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High school
Moses attended Peninsula High School ('95).[8] As a teenager, he switched from football to water polo, and moved to goalkeeper in his sophomore year.[14][15] 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.[16] He was named a first team All-American his junior and senior years.[15]
College
Moses attended Pepperdine University ('09) on a full scholarship and was the starting goalkeeper in water polo for four seasons for the Pepperdine Waves from 1995-98.[8][15][17] In 1995 he made 165 saves.[18] He was All-American honorable mention in 1996 (when he made 218 saves), first team in 1997 (207 saves), and second team in 1998 (224 saves).[18][8][15] He was also All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation all four years, and 1997 MPSF Goalkeeper of the Year.[8][16] He helped lead Pepperdine to the 1997 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, and was named Conference Player of the Year, game and team MVP, and all-NCAA Tournament first team.[4][8][15][18] He graduated from Pepperdine in 1999 with a degree in public relations.[8]
Team USA
He first became a member of the USA Men's National Water Polo Team in 1997.[4] Moses was the starting goalkeeper for Team USA at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics.[8] He was a goalkeeper on the team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, making 70 saves in the tournament.[19][20][21] In the championship game, the USA team won the silver medal, defeated by Hungary.[14] He was named to the Olympic All-Star Team.[22]
In December 2010, Moses' Olympic silver medal was stolen by thieves when his parents' house was burglarized.[14] The thieves also stole both a ring and a watch that he had been given by the US Olympic Committee.[21][22][23]
Moses was also on Team USA at the London 2012 Olympic Games, at which he made 63 saves and the team came in 8th.[24] He was also on Team USA at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, at which the team came in 10th.[2]
Moses won gold medals with Team USA at the 2007 (30 saves), 2011 (36 saves; stopping over 65% of shots), and 2015 Pan American Games.[8][19]
He played at the Water Polo World Championships in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015, with his top finish being 4th in 2009.[2]
Moses won a bronze medal at the 2003 FINA World League Super Final, a silver medal at the 2008 FINA World League Super Final (in which he made 37 saves), and a silver medal at the 2016 FINA World League Super Final.[19][2]
International
Moses played for Club Olivar of Zaragosa, Spain, in the Spanish professional league in 2000-01.[15] From 2008-09 he played professionally for VK Šibenik, Croatia, winning the Yellow Cap Award for being the most consistent player in the Croatian First League of Water Polo, and from 2009-11 he played for Sportiva Nervi, Italy.[13][17][19]
He won the Best Goalkeeper Award in the 2006 Swimming Union of the Americas (ASUA) Cup.[15]
Moses was named the 2007 Premier League Best Goalkeeper while playing for the New York Athletic Club, as well as MVP of the 2010 USA Water Polo Men's National Championships.[15][13]
Coaching
In 2012 he served as co-Head Coach at Pepperdine University.[2] Moses is now associate head coach in water polo at Pepperdine.[8]
Honors
Moses was inducted into the New York Athletic Club Hall of Fame in 2009, and into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.[25][8][13] In 2015 he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[26] In 2018 he was inducted into the Jewish Sports Heritage Association Hall of Fame in New York.[27][28]
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