Peter Asch

1972 Olympic medal Asch qualified for the U.S. team at the 1972 Olympics, and competed in Munich under Head Olympic Coach Monte Nitzkowski, and Assistant Coach Artie Lambert.

In his 1972 Division A preliminary Olympic Game against Romania, on August 27, in Munich at the Olympia Schwimmhalle, Asch scored the deciding goal in a 4–3 victory with only 1:52 left to play.

In the subsequent games at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the United States water polo Team defeated Cuba 7–6 on August 28 where Asch scored a goal, and then defeated Canada on August 29. On August 30, the team defeated Mexico, 7–5. They defeated Yugoslavia 5–3 on August 31, and tied with West Germany 4–4 on September 1. On September 1, in the difficult 4–4 tie in the opening final game with the strongly supported home team West Germany, Asch scored a vital goal. But in a rare loss, the U.S. team went 5–3 to Hungary on September 2. In a closely followed game, and an important one for Asch, the US Team tied with the future Gold medal winner, the Soviet Union, 6–6 on September 3, and Asch scored a needed goal against a team many American fans viewed as a major rival. The American Team was greatly disappointed with the tie, and Asch later inferred that his decision to continue playing Water Polo with the National Team was in hopes of someday beating Russia. Asch got his chance to play Russia again in Long Beach in a series of games in February 1973 and scored at least one goal, but the Russians, swept the three-game series which ended on February 18.

PanAm Games medals After his bronze medal at the München Olympics, he won a gold in the 1971 PanAm Games and a silver at the 1975 PanAm Games. He became a member of the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1984. In 1975, Asch was winner of the James W. Lee Award for his work with the Outdoor Nationals Team and was Captain of the US National Team from 1973 to 1976. He was a member of the All-World Team in 1973 and 1975. He later became president of one of the Bank of America Corp. group subsidiaries.

Coaching In addition to his successful business career, Asch made a return to the water polo community as a coach for girls' age-group teams. From 1995-1997, he coached age-group girls' teams including the Corcord Golden Bears, and served as the head coach at Miramonte High School, where his teams won North Coast Section titles. Beginning as an Assistant coach in 1998, he has served as a women's and men's Head coach for the University of California Berkeley water polo teams. Asch has lived in Orinda, California with his wife Esther and their daughter.