Local siblings make splash at water polo nationals

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Athletes Julia and James Rozolis-Hill brought home gold and bronze medals from the 2018 USA Water Polo National Junior Olympics, held at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California from July 21-29.

James, a member of Huntington Beach based Vanguard Aquatics 14U Boys Team, won the championship first place game and earned the Gold medal, as well as being selected as MVP. His sister Julia, who also coaches for Vanguard Aquatics, won a Gold medal with her co-ed 10U team. Many of the athletes on the winning 10U team attend school in the Los Alamitos Unified School District.

In addition to being a coach, Julia was a player for SET Water Polo Club in the National Junior Olympics and won the Bronze medal with her 18U team, placing third in the competition. Between the siblings, they have won 15 medals from the National Junior Olympics over the last several years. Julia will be attending USC in the fall and continuing her water polo career there.

Julia and James are the grandchildren of Jim and Pam Rozolis, 48-year residents of Los Alamitos. The siblings’ parents, Tom and Jennifer Rozolis-Hill, attended schools in Los Alamitos and met while working as lifeguards and swimming instructors for the city. Their father Tom was also a national gold medal water polo champion and state champion in the 1980s, and has coached water polo at all levels.