Further Personal Information |
Residence |
Newport Beach, CA, USA |
Higher education |
Communications, Journalism/Broadcasting - University of Southern California: Los Angeles, CA, USA |
General Interest |
Famous relatives |
Her husband Futi Tavana has competed in volleyball at international level, her brother-in-law Fili Moala has played American football for National Football League [NFL] team Indianapolis Colts, and her older sister Jordan competed in water polo at university level in United States. (normons.com, 09 Jul 2014; nfl.com, 11 Jun 2014; usawaterpolo.org, 2013) |
Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
She and her sister were club swimmers until a few of their friends encouraged them to try water polo. |
Preferred position / style / stance / technique |
Goalkeeper |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
She began swimming competitively at age eight but switched to water polo when she was at Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach, CA, United States. |
Further Personal Information |
Languages |
English |
General Interest |
Hobbies |
Playing beach volleyball and basketball. (usawaterpolo.org, 2013) |
Further Personal Information |
Family |
Husband Futi Tavana, daughter Olive [2015] |
General Interest |
Injuries |
In October 2010 she underwent shoulder surgery. (normons.com, 09 Jul 2014) |
Awards and honours |
In 2010 she was named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation [MPSF] Player of the Year. She was also named in the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches [ACWPC] All-America first team and the National Collegiate Athletic Association [NCAA] Championships All-Tournament team. (usctrojans.com, 2012)
In 2009 she was named in the ACWPC All-America first team, the All-MPSF first team, the NCAA Championships All-Tournament team and the MPSF Championships All-Tournament team. (usctrojans.com, 2012)
In 2008 she was named in the ACWPC All-America first team, the All-MPSF first team and the NCAA Championships All-Tournament team. (usctrojans.com, 2012) |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"The best thing about water polo is being part of a team that's striving to achieve something much bigger than any one individual." (usawaterpolo.org, 2013) |
Further Personal Information |
Other names |
Tumua Tavana |
Occupation |
Athlete, Coach |
General Interest |
Other information |
OTHER ACTIVITIES
She is the co-creator and host of AnEye 4 AnEye sports challenge television programme. The show went from concept to production and was close to completion of the first season in 2016. She co-founded Shaka Paws Productions as a vehicle to produced the show. She also coaches water polo at Corona Del Mar High School in Newport Beach. (dreamgoldwaterpolo.com, 12 Dec 2015; LinkedIn profile, 01 Sep 2015) |
