Patricia
Cardenas

Olympian 2008

0
GOLD

1
SILVER

0
BRONZE

Athlete Bio#

Height

5'6"

Age

Hometown

Commerce

Education

Cardenas won four straight CIF Division III championships at Bell Gardens High...A three-time first-team All-American at Bell Gardens...Named CIF Co-MVP as a junior and senior...Team went 117-3 from 1999-2002. After transferring from Golden West College to USC, made an immediate impact in her first season at USC...Was team's third leading scorer with 40 goals, including 15 multiple goal games...In 2006 scored in a total of 23 games for the Trojans...Named MPSF Player of the Week after the Stanford Tournament...Received All-American honorable mention...Selected as 2003 All-Southern California Co-MVP while at Golden West Community College...Won 2002 State Championship with Golden West...Named California Community College MVP and Community College Southern California MVP in 2002...Scored 40 goals for USC during her first season after transferring (2006); third highest scorer on the 2006 Trojan roster...Named MPSF Player of the Week after the Stanford Tournament...Received All- American honorable mention.

Career Highlights

INTERNATIONAL/CLUB: Logged five goals during 2007 Holiday Cup...Tossed in three goals overall, including two in victory over Cuba, during 2007 Pan American Games...Scored four goals during Super Final, 2007 highlighted by three in victory over China...Contributed four goals in the 2007 FINA World Championships...Selected to Senior National Team after attending open tryouts in May 2006...First Senior National Team appearance at 2006 FINA World League where she helped Team USA secure the gold medal...Contributed four goals in the 2007 FINA World Championships...Member of the Junior National Team from 1999-2000...On team that won the 2000 Junior Pan American Championship in 2000...Won the Junior Olympics with Commerce Club team, 1997-99, and the Junior Nationals in 1996-98...Member of the Youth National Team from 1997-98...Member of the Youth North American Championship First Place team in 1998.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS:
2008 Olympic Games, Beijing, China, 2nd place
2007 Pan American Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1st Place
2007 FINA World League Super Final, Montreal, Canada, 1st Place
2007 FINA World Championships, Melbourne, Australia, 1st Place
2006 Holiday Cup, Los Alamitos, Calif., 1st Place
2006 FINA World League, Cosenza, Italy, 1st Place

COLLEGE: After transferring from Golden West College to USC, made an immediate impact in her first season at USC...Was team's third leading scorer with 40 goals, including 15 multiple goal games...In 2006 scored in a total of 23 games for the Trojans...Named MPSF Player of the Week after the Stanford Tournament...Received All-American honorable mention...Selected as 2003 All-Southern California Co-MVP while at Golden West Community College...Won 2002 State Championship with Golden West...Named California Community College MVP and Community College Southern California MVP in 2002...Scored 40 goals for USC during her first season after transferring (2006); third highest scorer on the 2006 Trojan roster...Named MPSF Player of the Week after the Stanford Tournament...Received All- American honorable mention.

HIGH SCHOOL: Cardenas won four straight CIF Division III championships at Bell Gardens High...A three-time first-team All-American at Bell Gardens...Named CIF Co-MVP as a junior and senior...Team went 117-3 from 1999-2002.

Quick Facts

Cardenas is majoring in sociology
Parents are Josefina and Alfredo
Has two older brothers, Jose and Ivan (both played water polo)
Enjoys spending time with her family
Lists Lance Armstrong as her biggest sports hero and her mom as her most admired person
Recalls her most embarrassing water polo moment as scoring a goal on her own cage at age 6
Favorite music is hip-hop and Spanish rock
Plays water polo because it's physical and you don't get all sweaty
Decided to play because her older brothers played
keeps playing because of her teammates, personal goals, family and the game itself.