Sonoma State University Athletics

Coralie Simmons returns for her 10th season as head coach of the Sonoma State women’s water polo team in 2017.  Previously an assistant at UCLA and the University of Hawai'i, Simmons brings a wealth of national and international experience to Sonoma State’s water polo program.

Last season (in 2016), Simmons compiled a record of 13-14 and led the Seawolves to a third place finish in the WWPA Championships, matching the program's highest finish in the conference.

In 2015, Simmons led the Seawolves to a 9-20 record and a fourth place finish in the annual WWPA Championship Tournament.  She was also named the ACWPC Division II National Coach of the Year for the second time in her head coaching career.

Simmons was also named the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPA) Division II National Coach of the Year after leading the Seawolves to their second-best finish (4th place) in the WWPA Championship Tournament. Sonoma State finished 12-20 overall and went 9-9 in WWPA action, which included wins over nationally-ranked Santa Clara and UC San Diego.

A two-time National Player of the Year at UCLA, Simmons guided the Bruins to their fourth national title in 2001 (in the inaugural NCAA title match). She was the recipient of the Pete Cutino Award, given annually to the top NCAA male and female players, and earned NCAA Tournament MVP honors.

Simmons sat out the 2000 season as a member of the U.S. Olympic Team, and helped the United States bring home a silver medal at the Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She tied for the team lead in scoring with nine goals at the Games. Simmons helped the U.S. National Team qualify for the Olympic Games in the World Women’s Olympic Qualification Tournament in Italy, scoring a team-leading eight goals.

In 1999, Simmons redshirted the season to compete with the U.S. Women’s National Team. She helped the United States capture a silver medal at the Pan-American Games that summer, and Simmons became the only team member to record a goal in all six Pan-Am Games (she also led the U.S. squad with 10 total goals).

Simmons was named the National Collegiate Player of the Year in 1997 and 1998. The Hemet, Calif., native earned All-America first-team honors, All-MPSF first-team accolades and first-team National Collegiate Championship honors in 1998 when she led the team with a school-record 74 goals in 115 attempts and posted a team-best 64 percent shooting average. In the national title game, Simmons scored three goals to help UCLA defeat California (May 10, 1998).

As a sophomore in 1997, Simmons collected MPSF Southern Division Player of the Year honors, in addition to earning All-MPSF Tournament first-team accolades. She tied her previous single-season school record for goals with 60 and netted points in 28 of 32 matches that season (15 multiple-scoring games). Simmons tallied two goals in the championship match versus California that season.

In her first season at UCLA, Simmons earned All-America first-team accolades and led the Bruins in all offensive categories. She was selected to the 1996 National Collegiate Championship first-team all-tournament team. Simmons assembled a 10-game scoring streak through the Western Regional Qualifying Tournament and National Collegiate Championships.

Simmons earned a degree in geography/environmental studies at UCLA and is a member of the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame.