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From a coach with an Olympic gold medal to a coach with three.
That’s the fortune for Orange Lutheran’s girls water polo program after it named Melissa Seidemann on Wednesday as the coaching replacement for Brenda Villa.
Seidemann, the former coach at Corona del Mar and a JSerra assistant, earned three consecutive gold medals with Team USA at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
The three golds tie her with Maggie Steffens for the most for a U.S. women’s national team player.
Villa, a four-time Olympic medalist who resigned in August to become the associate head coach of the Stanford women, teamed with Seidemann to capture the United States’ first gold medal at the 2012 Games in London.
Seidemann and Villa were collegiate standouts at Stanford.
Seidemann guided Corona del Mar to the CIF-SS Division 1 title in 2022. The Sea Kings hired Seidemann in 2020 as she continued her push toward the Tokyo Olympics.
Last season, Villa guided Orange Lutheran to its third consecutive Trinity League crown and a CIF SoCal Regional title.
The Lancers’ bid to claim a third consecutive CIF-SS Open Division championship under Villa ended with a loss in double sudden-death overtime against Newport Harbor in the semifinals.
“I am incredibly honored and excited to be named the girls water polo head coach at OrangeLutheran,” Seidemann said in a statement released by the Trinity League school.
“This program has a strong tradition of excellence, and I am eager to become a part of the community and build on that legacy. While our shared love for the game will unite us, my hope is to support each athlete in learning, growing, and reaching their full potential. I cannot wait to get started and see what we can accomplish together.”