(Tempe, AZ) Petra Pardi has been named the head coach for the Arizona State University women’s water polo program, on May 18, 2022, as announced by Vice President for University Athletics and Athletics Director Ray Anderson.
This hire comes after she was named Interim Head Coach with three games remaining in the 2022 season, but Pardi has served as an assistant coach in the program since 2018.
“Petra Pardi has had an amazing impact on this program during her 12 years as a Sun Devil and I could not be any more excited to name her as the new Head Coach. From the moment Petra came in here as a freshman and served as team captain her senior season, to later joining this staff as an assistant coach, she has proven to be the strong leader we need to guide this team. We are confident that she is uniquely capable of leading this program for years to come as the Head Coach, and I am excited for the future of Sun Devil Water Polo,” Ray Anderson reiterated.
A dream come true for the lifelong Sun Devil, Pardi noted “There is not another person that would care more about the success of this program and the well-being of the young ladies [than me].”
She is no stranger to water polo after growing up and playing in Hungary as a member of the Hungarian National Team at the youth, junior, and senior levels before joining the Sun Devils in 2011 where she graduated with a BA in Psychology in 2015.
She sits in the top-10 of ASU’s record books for goals scored (157), assists (71), and points (228). In the final years of her impressive Sun Devil career, Pardi earned All-America honors as a junior and served as team captain her senior season, while competing for the Sun Devils from 2011-15.
“I am a byproduct of this team and am really excited about continuing the tradition and building a very strong team culture,” Pardi noted.
Pardi was also a part of the 2014 squad that clinched a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, and has been a common denominator among the Sun Devil’s NCAA Tournament appearances after being a member of the coaching staff during the 2021 tournament run in Los Angeles.
Before returning to the coaching staff as an assistant coach in 2018, Pardi was the head coach of the only water polo club in Arizona, the Mesa Water Polo Club. At MWP, she served as head coach of the U14 program and assistant coach for the U16 and U18 programs in 2016. She returned to Arizona State to get her master’s degree in Higher Education/Higher Education Administration in 2017 while she served as a Volunteer Assistant Coach for the Sun Devils.
Pardi steps into her new role with the Sun Devils with a ‘one decision at a time’ mentality, who has grown immensely in her transition from student-athlete to coach.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Claudia Schwartz
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