Petra Pardi

On May 18, 2022, Petra Pardi was named the program's third Head Coach after being named Interim Head Coach with three games remaining in the 2022 season.  A dream come true for the lifelong Sun Devil, Pardi noted "There is not another person that would care more about the success of this program and the well-being of the young ladies [than me]."  She is no stranger to water polo after growing up and playing in Hungary as a member of the Hungarian National Team at the youth, junior, and senior levels before joining the Sun Devils in 2011 where she graduated with a BA in Psychology in 2015.  After completing her first season has head coach in 2023, she brought in nine new faces to the program, seven freshman and two sophomores that all immediately made an impact to the team. The 2024 season rejuvenated the program back into the top-10 of the national ranks, leading the Sun Devils to a 23-8 record, which is the second most wins in program history and the first 20-win season since 2017 that included two seperate winning streaks of six games. Pardi coached the team to two top-10 wins. including 12 wins over ranked opponents which contributed to the teams 12-win improvement from 2023. The Sun Devil alum also coached the first Sun Devil to win MPSF Player of the Year, Luca Petovary who tallied 122 goals, 29 assists for 151 points which ultimately set Sun Devil records for most points and goals in a season, and the MPSF record for most goals in a year. In addition, Pardi coached two All-MPSF players in Petovary and transfer Millie Quin who 73 goals and 41 assists to place on the All-MPSF Second Team. Pardi led the team to another fifth-place finish at the MPSF tournament with a victory over Indiana. In her first full-year as head coach in 2023 she helped lead the Sun Devils to a 11-13 campaign which featured freshman Juliette Dhalluin making a significant contribution for ASU, leading the MPSF conference in every offensive category with 70 goals, 38 assists, 48 steals and managed 108 points. Dhalluin also got All-American honors, making it the first All-American Pardi has coached. She also managed to lead the Sun Devils to six ranked victories last season and capped off the year with two straight overtime victories in the MPSF tournament with a fifth place finish at the MPSF Tournament. She sits in the top-10 of ASU's record books for goals scored (157), assists (71), and points (228). In the final years of her impressive Sun Devil career, Pardi earned All-America honors as a junior and served as team captain her senior season, while competing for the Sun Devils from 2011-15. "I am a byproduct of this team and am really excited about continuing the tradition and building a very strong team culture," Pardi noted.   Sun Devil water polo alum and All-American Petra Pardi, who since graduation served the program in a number of roles, was promoted to assistant coach of the program in August 2018. “Petra is one of the top players to come out of the program and, after finishing her eligibility, she came back, got her master’s degree, and helped as a manager and volunteer assistant coach,” said head coach Todd Clapper. “Petra knows the program and is invested and I’m so happy to have her join the staff full time.”   Pardi earned All-America honors as a junior and served as team captain her senior season, competing for the Sun Devils from 2011-15. Following graduation, she started working with Mesa Water Polo, then the only age-group water polo organization in the area. At MWP, she served as head coach of the U14 program and assistant coach for the U16 and U18 programs.   In 2016, Pardi returned to Arizona State as a graduate assistant coach and manager while earning her Master’s Degree in Higher Education/Higher Education Administration, graduating in 2018 before serving as a volunteer assistant coach in summer 2018. Pardi was a member of the 2014 team, who earned a berth in the NCAA Championship Tournament, and has now coached in the NCAA Championship tournament after leading the 2021 squad to locking in a berth for just the third time in program history. She currently resides in Tempe with her husband Maxx and son.     Pardi's Year-by-Year Records (Women's Teams Only) Year School Won Loss 2022 Arizona State**   1 2 2023 Arizona State 11 13 2024 Arizona State 23 8 TOTALS    3 years 35 23 **designates time as Interim Head Coach