Meet the Founders

Jarod Stentiford

Jarod is from Johannesburg, South Africa and has played polo for 28 years, including 4 years at University of Colorado, and Dynamo Masters for 17 years. He served as head referee of the Georgia High School Water Polo Association for 3 years, and has been coaching for 10+ years.. While coaching in the GHSWPA, Coach Jarod led the Collins Hill Lady Eagles to 4 State Titles and 2 Runner-Ups in the 6 years he has been Head Coach. He also coaches and co-founded the USAWP club team, North Atlanta Water Polo, and annually coaches the Southeast Zone Olympic Development Water Polo program with USAWP.

Emily Stevenson

Emily started playing water polo in middle school in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and with no prior swimming experience, she quickly found herself as the team goalie. She was a Florida First-Team All-County and All-American Athlete for three years, and moved on to play at the University of Florida, eventually winning the CWPA National Championship title in 2019 alongside her teammates and best friends. Emily studied advertising, and currently works in Marketing as a Tech Account Manager, and is a certified Holistic Health Coach. She also plays goalie for Dynamo Masters and The Golden Girls Masters teams. She is passionate about health and wellness, attends a local church, and is obsessed with her dog Maggie.

Erin Cunefare

Erin started her water polo career as a founding member of the Lakeside High School team in 2011, she was also the women’s team captain and led the team to win in the 2013 championships. She was the first person ever from Georgia to compete in Junior Olympics and ODP and was sent to the National Team Selection Camp. She was also the first person from Georgia to play divisional water polo in California as a Regal for the California Lutheran University team for four years. She was the Chamblee Head Coach in their inaugural season in 2018 and joined the Forsyth Team as an assistant coach for the men and the Head Coach for the women in 2021. Erin has also been a senior referee for the GHSWPA for nine years. Currently, she works for United Consulting Group as an Environmental Specialist and in her free time enjoys playing video games and Dungeons and Dragons.

Mariana Lombello

Mariana began her water polo career as a high school freshman in Miami, Florida. She went on to play at the University of Florida from 2015-2019, where she served as team Treasurer and Team President. She led the Gators to win the 2019 CWPA National Championship, with UF being the first team from the East to ever win the title! In 2020, Mariana moved to Atlanta and continues her 13 year career playing with Dynamo Masters. She plays in tournaments with both Dynamo and a team of Florida women calling themselves The Golden Girls. Her goal is to grow and expand water polo programs in the Southeast, starting with exposure to the sport in high school and middle school. She head coached the 16u girls to a Bronze medal overall at the 2023 Junior Olympics. Currently, she works for Delta as an IT Analyst and in her free time, she loves to rock climb, cook, travel and spend time with her family by the lake. 

Andy Neff

Coach Andy has an extensive coaching career spanning over a decade, where he has consistently demonstrated his strong coaching abilities, dedication, and passion for the sport. He began his coaching career with Lakeside High School in 2011 under the GHSWPA when he was the inaugural Coach for Lakesides first girls’ team. Since then, Coach Andy has had two separate stints with Lakeside and has led the girls’ program to state championships in 2013, 2014 and 2019 and the boys’ team to state championships in 2014 and 2019 for D2 and D3. From 2015 to 2022 Andy served as one of the Head Coaches for USA Water Polos Olympic Development Program (ODP) leading the Southeast Zone Girls Program. In 2021 Andy was selected to coach the Girls 18U ODP Team in Barcelona for the International Competition program. He now serves as a Coach and outside consultant for the North Atlanta Water Polo club as well as this very league, GWPL.

Bella Nuñez

Isabella “Bella” Nuñez brings 10 years of water polo experience to the table.  She played for Lakeside High School and was voted MVP of the Women’s A team 3 years of her high school career, “All State" and “All Stars" all years of high school, female MVP of the state 2019 and led her team to the State Championship title in 2019. She also made it on the Olympic Development Program team and was one of the first girls to be selected for NTSC from GA. Bella wanted to share her love of water polo, continue to support Lakeside and mentor/cultivate young talent in Georgia and began coaching D3 boys in 2021. Bella helped to both develop and strengthen the team’s skill while guiding them to 3rd place in the developmental state championship. She is now the Head Coach of Viking Water Polo and the Lady Vikings. She hopes to continue to grow the sport in Georgia.