Gabrielle Juarez - Head Water Polo Coach Long Island University DI

Head Women's Water Polo Coach Long Island University, Brooklyn Gabrielle (she/they/them) is a goal-driven Division 1 water polo coach in Brooklyn, New York. They pride themselves on developing student-athletes in all aspects of life. Gabrielle is passionate about program development and the implementation of thriving team culture. In just three years, Gabrielle has built Long Island University’s women’s water polo program to be a top 25 team in the country. Along with their work at LIU, Gabrielle has created/revived other programs throughout the United States, which earned her the Brent Bohlender Distinguished Coaching Award for the North Eastern Zone in 2018. Mid-way through the 2021/2022 season, the Sharks are 11-4, averaging a .733 game-winning percentage. Gabrielle has LIU to place 17th in the country after beating #10 ranked Indiana - (February 9th). She has developed All-MAAC Preseason Team, MAAC Offensive Player of the Week, and MAAC Defensive Player of the Week student-athletes. During their 2020/2021 season, Gabrielle led LIU to a 7-0 undefeated conference record, averaging a 1.0 winning percentage. They also guided LIU to its first MAAC Regular Season Conference Championship in just their first full year of conference play. They also developed the MAAC Rookie of the Year and several all-MAAC conference athletes. Along with their success in the pool, LIU placed Top 20 in ACWPC’s All-Academic Team Award. In their inaugural 2019/2020 season, Gabrielle led LIU to victories over Mercyhurst, Austin College, George Washington University, Connecticut College, and other long-standing programs. They also developed two athletes to earn MAAC Rookie of the Week awards and guided LIU to place Top 15 in ACWPC’s All-Academic Team Award before the team’s COVID-19 shutdown. Gabrielle played Division 1 water polo for UCLA. While at UCLA, they won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) championship and placed 3rd in NCAA’s. A native of East LA, California, Gabrielle began their water polo career playing at Whittier High School and Commerce Aquatics. At Whittier, Gabrielle was recognized twice as a Division III First-Team All-CIF Southern Section and First-Team All-League student-athlete, team MVP, team captain, and three-year leading scorer. At the club level, Gabrielle played for Commerce Aquatics under Gabriel Martinez. At Commerce, Gabrielle was an All-American selection at Junior Olympics and their starting 2MO. Gabrielle guided their teams to several top-10 finishes at Junior Olympics, a bronze medal at Speedo Cup, and a second-place finish at Club Championships. Gabrielle Juarez has their B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from UCLA. Gabrielle Juarez also serves as LIU's assistant aquatic director and is currently getting their M.A. in Exercise Science at LIU. They reside in Brooklyn, NY, with their girlfriend Gem and their dog Pepper.