Orns Selected as New U-M Water Polo Assistant Coach
8/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
"I am very excited about having Erika as a part of the coaching staff," said Drury-Pinto. "She is very familiar with the state of Michigan and that will help because she knows a lot about the area's recruits. With her experience of being the two-time national club Coach of the Year and winning back-to-back club national titles, she has a wealth of knowledge about the game. She is very good at what she does and I am glad to have her on board."
Orns comes to U-M after a very successful stint coaching the Michigan State women's water polo club team, which she coached to back-to-back club national titles and Big Ten titles in 2001 and 2002. In addition, Orns earned the Collegiate Water Polo Association's club Coach of the Year award in both 2001 and 2002.
"It will be a great opportunity to coach a team that competes at the highest level, that plays some of the top teams in the country," said Orns. "It's great that they were so successful as a second-year team (winning the conference title and reaching the Final Four). It's only a program that is on the way up so this is certainly a good place to be."
Orns earned a bachelor of science degree in forensic science in 1994 and a bachelor of arts in chemistry in 1995 from Michigan State University. She is currently working towards her master's degree in criminal justice. The Sylvania, Ohio, native swam and played club water polo for MSU. After her playing days ended, Orns remained at Michigan State to be the head coach of the women's club team from 2001-02. Overall, she accumulated a record of 51-28-1 against both varsity and club opponents. Against club teams, her record was 45-1.
"I'm definitely a defensive-oriented coach," said Orns. "I feel that if you can hold the other team to under five goals that you should be able to win the game. That's really what I focus on. Goaltending is obviously a big deal, but what your field players do on defense can really determine the other team's strategy. Obviously, having Betsey Armstrong in the cage is a huge advantage. If you have a great goaltender it allows you a lot of options as far as what defensive schemes you want to run. If your defense can dictate the type of offense that the other team needs to play then you're probably going to win the game. You want people shooting that the opponent doesn't want shooting. I think that all starts with defense."
Orwig, who won a silver medal as the starting goaltender for Team USA at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, will be training full-time with the national team in preparation for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.
"She's been a part of building the tradition here at Michigan," said Drury-Pinto of Orwig. "She meant a tremendous deal to the program in terms of recruiting. Bernie was a big part of (goalkeeper) Betsey Armstrong's development and that allowed her to achieve being an All-America honorable mention. She will definitely be a huge loss for the team but we are very supportive of her and her work towards her Olympic dream."
Contact: Matt Trevor, Paul Dickerson (734) 763-4423
