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Water Polo Worlds: Seven Americans from Gold-Winning Tokyo Squad Words-Bound
The U.S. women’s water polo team that will take on the 2022 FINA World Championships starting Monday features seven members from the Tokyo gold medal squad.
Most of the headliners from the three-time reigning Olympic gold medalists are there. That includes the Most Outstanding Goalie from the Tokyo Games, Ashleigh Johnson, Tokyo MVP Maddie Musselman and Rio Olympics MVP Maggie Steffens. Other stalwarts include Rachel Fattal, Stephania Haralabidis, Amanda Longan and Kaleigh Gilchrist. Jordan Raney was part of the 2019 Worlds-winning team.
The U.S. begins play Monday in Debrecen, Hungary, opening with South Africa. They are in Group B along with Netherlands and Argentina. The crossover round starts June 26, with the quarterfinals June 28 and finals on July 2.
Absent are the Fischer sisters, Aria Fischer and Makenzie Fisher, the latter of whom won the Cutino Award last month.
The American women won the title at the 2019 Worlds in Gwangju, their sixth overall title and third straight. The U.S. has medaled at seven of the last nine editions, dating to 2003.
The men’s team carries over eight players from the squad that finished sixth in Tokyo. That includes the NYAC core of Alex Bowen, Hannes Daube, Max Irving and Ben Stevenson. Other Tokyo participants include Ben Hallock, Drew Holland, Marko Vavic and Dylan Woodhead.
The men open the tournament in Szeged, Hungary, Tuesday by taking on powerhouse Serbia. The U.S. is drawn into Group D with Australia and Kazakhstan. The crossover round is June 27 with the final on July 3.
The U.S. men are chasing their first ever Worlds medal, finishing fourth on three occasions (1986, 1991, 2009). The U.S. finished ninth at the 2019 tournament in Gwangju.
U.S. Women’s Water Polo Worlds Roster (Hometown/College/USAWP Club)
- Ashleigh Johnson (Miami, FL/Princeton/NYAC)*
- Maddie Musselman (Newport Beach, CA/UCLA/NYAC)*
- Tara Prentice (Temecula, CA/UC Irvine/SOCAL)
- Rachel Fattal (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA/SOCAL)*
- Ava Johnson (Walnut Creek, CA/UCLA/680 Water Polo)
- Maggie Steffens (Danville, CA/Stanford/NYAC)*
- Stephania Haralabidis (Athens, Greece/USC/NYAC)*
- Ryann Neushul (Goleta, CA/Stanford/Santa Barbara 805)
- Denise Mammolito (Rancho Cucamonga, CA/USC/CHAWP)
- Kaleigh Gilchrist (Newport Beach, CA/USC/NYAC)*
- Bayley Weber (Los Alamitos, CA/USC/SET)
- Jordan Raney (Manhattan Beach, CA/Stanford/Huntington Beach WPF)
- Amanda Longan (Moorpark, CA/USC/Santa Barbara 805)*
- Alternates: Emily Ausmus (Riverside, CA/ML King HS/SOCAL) and Jewel Roemer (Martinez, CA/Stanford/680 Water Polo)
- Head coach: Adam Krikorian
- Assistant Coaches: Molly Cahill and Nicolle Payne
- Team Manager: Lori Verdegaal
- Sports Medicine Manager: Larnie Boquiren
- Video Coordinator: Chris Lee
U.S. Men’s Water Polo Worlds Roster (Hometown/College/USAWP Club)
- Alex Bowen (Santee, CA/Stanford/NYAC)*
- Hannes Daube (Long Beach, CA/USC/NYAC)*
- Chase Dodd (Long Beach, CA/UCLA/Vanguard)
- Jake Ehrhardt (Camarillo, CA/USC/Pride)
- Matt Farmer (La Grange, IL/UCLA/Windy City WP)
- Thomas Gruwell (San Diego, CA/UCLA/LAWPC)
- Ben Hallock (Westlake Village, CA/Stanford/LA Premier)*
- Drew Holland (Orinda, CA/Stanford/Olympic Club)*
- Max Irving (Long Beach, CA/UCLA/NYAC)*
- Ben Stevenson (Reno, NV/Pacific/NYAC)*
- Marko Vavic (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA/USC/Trojan)*
- Adrian Weinberg (Oak Park, CA/California/Pride)
- Dylan Woodhead (San Anselmo, CA/Stanford/SHAQ)*
- Alternates: Tyler Abramson (Orinda, CA/Stanford/Stanford WPF) and Thomas Dunstan (New Canaan, CT/USC/Regency)
- Head Coach: Dejan Udovicic
- Assistant Coaches: Gavin Arroyo and Matt Ustaszewski
- Team Manager: Lori Verdegaal
- Sports Medicine Manager: Chris Bates
*Tokyo Olympian
U.S. women’s water polo Worlds schedule
(All times PT)
- June 20: vs. South Africa 9 a.m.
- June 22: vs. the Netherlands 10:30 a.m.
- June 24: vs. Argentina 9 a.m.
- June 26: vs. TBD (crossover round)
- June 28: vs. TBD (quarterfinals)
- June 30: vs. TBD (semifinals)
- July 2: vs. TBD (finals)
U.S. men’s water polo Worlds schedule
- June 21: vs. Serbia 10:30 a.m.
- June 23: vs. Kazakhstan 10:30 a.m.
- June 25: vs. Australia 10:30 a.m.
- June 27: vs. TBD (crossover round)
- June 29: vs. TBD (quarterfinals)
- July 1: vs. TBD (semifinals)
- July 3: vs. TBD (finals)
