BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Former Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) student-athletes Adam Greenberg (University of Illinois, 2010), Zev Halikman (Florida Atlantic University, 2017), David Melnick (Northwestern University, 2011) and Ory Tasman (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016/University of Central Florida women’s collegiate club coach) helped the United States record a Fourth Place finish in men’s water polo at the 20th World Maccabiah Games on July 4-18, 2017, in Israel.
Team USA went 3-2-1 in round robin play by defeating Germany (18-8 W), Mexico (19-10 W) and Canada (14-8 W) with a tie against Hungary (11-11 T) and losses to Israel (18-6 L) and Brazil (20-11 L). The United States placed behind Israel, Hungary and Brazil in the final standings as the Israelis claimed the Gold Medal with a 9-6 victory over Hungary.
The Maccabiah Games is the world’s largest Jewish athletic competition in the tradition of the Maccabees — emphasizing the centrality of the State of Israel in the life of the Jewish people.
The Maccabees were the leaders of a Jewish rebel army that took control of Judea between 164 BCE and 63 BCE and reasserted the Jewish religion in the area.
The Maccabiah Games take place every four years in Israel. They are the Maccabi World Union’s largest and most famous enterprise.
The principal mission of the Maccabiah Games is to facilitate a worldwide gathering of young Jewish athletes in Israel — staging the highest possible levels of sports competitions and strengthening their connection to Israel and the Jewish people.
The 20th Maccabiah Games were the biggest since the Games started in 1932 — including about 10,000 athletes and 22,000 fans from more than 80 countries.
2017 Team USA Maccabi Roster (Men’s Open)
Chase Borisoff of La Canada, Calif., University of Southern California
Scott Churchman of Pasadena, Calif., Occidental College (’13)
Alden Geller of La Canada, Calif., University of California-Santa Barbara
Samuel Gorcey-Biblowitz of Solana Beach, Calif., Pitzer College
Adam Greenberg of Chicago, Ill., University of Illinois-Champaign-Urbana (’10)
Adam Gross of Santa Barbara, Calif., Santa Barbara High School
Jake Gross of San Diego, Calif., Chapman University (’15)
Zev Halikman of Boynton Beach, Fla., Florida Atlantic University
David Melnick of Chicago, Ill., Northwestern University (’11)
Zachary Senator of Pacific Palisades, Calif., Pomona College
Ory Tasman of Orlando, Fla., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (’16)
Ari Wayne of Palo Alto, Calif., University of California-San Diego
