Maureen O'Toole

Maureen "Mo" O'Toole (born March 24, 1961 in Long Beach, California) is an accomplished American water polo player and coach. In over 30 years in the sport, she set multiple firsts for women in water polo, received all the top honors, and in her time was recognized as one of the best water polo players in the world.

O'Toole started playing water polo during the swimming off-season at age thirteen. At Wilson High School in Long Beach, California she joined boys' water polo because there was no girls' team. She played at Long Beach City College on the men's team for national team coach Monte Nitzkowski. She attended the University of Hawaii on a swimming scholarship, since there were no water polo scholarships for women at that time.

At age 17, O'Toole was invited to join the U.S. Women's National Water Polo Team. "Mo" (as her teammates called her) was a constant figure on the team from 1978 to 1994, except in 1991 when she gave birth to her daughter Kelly. When women's water polo was added to the 2000 Summer Olympics, Maureen re-joined the US team out of retirement in 1997 and helped qualify the US women's team as one of the six teams eligible to participate in Sydney. At age 39, she was the oldest and the only water polo player over 30 and at the Olympic Games, helping the US women win an Olympic silver medal.

O'Toole

O'Toole is an Irish surname. It may refer to:

People

Other uses

See also

O'Toole (surname)

People

O'Toole family

The O'Tooles of Leinster, one of the leading families of that province, are descended from Tuathal Mac Augaire, King of Leinster (died 958), who belonged to the Uí Dúnlainge dynasty. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish Ó Tuathail.

Their original territory comprised the southern part of the present County Kildare but they were driven from it during the Anglo Norman invasion and settled in the mountains of what is now County Wicklow around Glendalough.

Here, with their kinsmen the O'Byrne family, they were noted for their tough resistance to English domination for four centuries; including exercising great influence over the foundation of the Confederation of Kilkenny in 1642 in what had become Confederate Ireland.

At the start of the 16th century, there were five great houses, all, owing allegiance to "The O'Toole of Powerscourt" as the recognized chief: