BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Former University of Massachusetts men’s water polo athlete Gary Spremullo was among six inductees during the 2024 Rhode Island Aquatic Hall of Fame ceremony on May 4 at the Quonset O Club in North Kingstown, R.I.
Spremullo began swimming at McDermott Pool in Warwick at the age of nine under the instruction of Bob Metcalf of the Little Rhody Aquatic Club. Recognizing his rapid progression, Metcalf advised Spremullo to attend the Little Rhody Aquatic Club at Brown University which he did until his freshman year in high school. At Little Rhody, Spremullo was coached by Ken Reall, John O’Neill, Paul Mangili and Dan Reinhardt. During his high school years he also swam at the East Providence Boys Club under the tutelage of Kevin Salsibury.
At the age of 12, Spremullo started playing water polo for the Little Rhody Polo Club coached by Brown University head coach/Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Hall of Fame coach Ed Reed. He progressed rapidly in the sport thanks to competing year round against high school teams and prep schools throughout the Northeast as well as numerous tournaments in the Eastern Water Polo League. Thanks to this competition, Spremullo experienced not only playing other teams with high school age players but competing against teams with college age players as well as adult players.
He was invited to attend the USA Water Polo National Development Camp at the Olympic Training center, Colorado Springs, Colorado, when he was 13 years old. In total he was a five time attendee at this camp from the ages of 13-17 and received the Most Valuable Player Award during his final year at the camp.
During the 1990-1993 season, Spremullo was named to the USA Water Polo Zone 1 All Star Team. As a sophomore, junior, and senior in high school he was a USA Water Polo Junior Olympian as both a player and goalie. Attending the first two of these events, he declined to attend the third because his senior year commitment to the Bishop Hendricken High School swimming team.
While at Hendricken, he led the high school to four consecutive State Championships. During his senior year he was the only swimmer in Rhode Island to be named to the All-State Team in four events as the State Champion in the 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard backstroke, and both the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay. In addition, he broke the 15-year-old record in the 100-yard backstroke with his performance in the State Championship meet. His time of 53.29 earned him All-America consideration, a rarity in Rhode Island swimming.
He was voted the Outstanding Senior Swimmer and the Rhode Island Swimmer of the Year by the members of the Rhode Island Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association. He also earned the Paul McDermott Award presented to the outstanding senior athlete at Bishop Hendricken as well as the Warwick Beacon Male athlete of the Year.
Following high school, he attended the University of Massachusetts where he swam and played water polo under head coach Russ Yarworth.
Spremullo presently works at Kent Hospital in the Sterile Processing Department, where he has been employed for the past 11 years.
Information courtesy Rhode Island Aquatic Hall of Fame
