June 1, 2011

Three-time Olympian and former Stanford men's water polo All-American Wolf Wigo '95 was elected to the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2011.

Wigo is joined by Robin Beauregard, Michael Garibaldi, Jennie Jacobson-Huse and former Olympic teammate Kyle Kopp in the Class of 2011. The class will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at a benefit dinner in Los Angeles on Sept. 17.

A four-year letterwinner at Stanford from 1991-94, Wigo was a four-time All-American, twice being named to the first team (1993-94). The AWPCA Player of the Year in 1994, Wigo led the Cardinal to three straight NCAA title games from 1992-94, winning the national championship the final two trips. Overall, the Cardinal went 89-23 (.795) over Wigo's four-year career.

Wigo would go on to represent the U.S. on the Senior National Team at the 1993 and 1995 World University Games, earning top-scorer status at each tournament. He was named to the U.S. Olympic Team for the first time in 1996, in the process becoming the first player from east of the Rocky Mountains to make the squad since 1956.

He would go on to represent the U.S. twice more at the Olympic Games, in 2000 and 2004. Following the 2000 Sydney Games, Wigo was named to the All-World First Team by NBC Sports.

In 1997, Wigo was part of the U.S. team that claimed the gold medal at the FINA World Cup, and went on to serve as the national team's captain from 2001-04.

Since retiring from international competition, Wigo has given back to the water polo community by helping to form SET Water Polo of Orange County, co-founding Kap7 International and assisting with Santa Barbara Club water polo. He also served as a color commentator for water polo competition at the 2008 Olympic Games for NBC Sports.

Currently, Wigo is the Director of Water Polo at UC Santa Barbara, a position he has held since June 2008. Serving as head coach of both the men's and women's programs at UCSB, Wigo is 95-84 over six years guiding the men's team and 51-37 in three years with the women's team.

Inductees were chosen through a process that included open nominations by their peers, evaluation of their candidacy by the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame Committee, and final ratification of the committee's recommendations by the USA Water Polo Board of Directors. The Committee is co-chaired by Brent Bohlender and Chris Dorst, and includes Jody Campbell, Dion Gray, Maggie Kelly, Charles Schroeder and Scott Schulte. USA Water Polo inducted its first Hall of Fame class in 1976.