Six UCLA Bruins Headed to Rio Olympics
June 16, 2016 | Women's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES -- Former UCLA and current U.S. Olympic Women's Water Polo Team Head Coach Adam Krikorian announced the 13 athletes that will compete for Team USA this August at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Krikorian made the announcement during a press conference held at the LA84 Foundation in Los Angeles earlier today.ย
Four years after winning the first Olympic gold in program history in the Summer of 2012 in London, four returners from that team anchor the 2016 edition. Team captain and 2012 Olympic Games MVP Maggie Steffens will lead Team USA into action in Rio. She is joined by fellow 2012 Olympic gold medalists Kami Craig, Courtney Mathewson (UCLA), and Melissa Seidemann.ย
Nine Olympic newcomers fill out the rest of the Team USA roster, including four more Bruins. Recent graduates Sami Hill and KK Clark join Mathewson, current Bruin Rachel Fattal and incoming freshman Maddie Musselman on the 2016 squad.
Mathewson led the Bruins to four national championships with Krikorian as her head coach at UCLA (2005-08). Krikorian has been her head coach for the last 12 years, including when the United States won its first Olympic gold medal in water polo in London in 2012, defeating Spain 8-5 in the gold-medal game.
Clark was a member of the 2009 NCAA Championship team. She scored seven goals, including four against South Africa, to help Team USA clinch an Olympic berth in the qualification tournament. The defender also tallied four goals en route to the USA's third-straight FINA World League Super Final title.
Hill, UCLA's all-time career leader in saves, led the Bruins to NCAA runner-up finishes in 2014 and 2015. The record-setting goalie recorded 18 saves as the US went 8-0 in the Olympic Qualification Tournament against the top teams in the world.
Fattal redshirted the 2016 season in order to train with the USA Women's Water Polo Senior National Team. Fattal tallied 41 goals over four international events, earning MVP honors at the 2015 FINA World Championships. A three-time first-team All-American, she has led UCLA in scoring in each of her three previous years (40, 49, and 65) and is third on the Bruin career charts with 154 steals.
Musselman, one of the youngest players on the national team, will be a freshman on the UCLA squad in 2017 and is a younger sister of senior Alex Musselman. The attacker scored 13 goals in the qualification tournament this past March to help the U.S. qualify for the Rio Olympics.
The United States will open competition at the Olympic Games on August 9, 2016 against Spain. The game takes place four years to the day after the USA Women won Olympic Gold in London against the very same Spain squad. Team USA will also meet China and Hungary in preliminary play in Group B. The medal round is scheduled for August 19.
The U.S. Olympic Women's Water Polo Team is currently ranked number one in the world. They have won every major tournament since 2014 including the FINA World Championship, FINA World Cup, Pan American Games title, and three FINA World League Super Final titles. This past March they claimed gold at the Olympic Qualification Tournament, earning a berth to the 2016 Olympic Games following a 19-0 victory over France in the quarterfinal round.ย
UCLA will play host to the U.S. Olympic team at Spieker Aquatics Center on July 24 as they take on Russia in a pre-Olympic matchup. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking here.
All nominations to the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team are subject to approval by the United States Olympic Committee.
2016 U.S. Olympic Women's Water Polo Team (Hometown/School/USAWP Club)
1. Sami Hill - GK (Santa Barbara, CA/UCLA/Santa Barbara)
2. Maddie Musselman - A (Newport Beach, CA/Corona del Mar HS/CdM Aquatics)
3. Melissa Seidemann - D (Walnut Creek, CA/Stanford/NYAC)
4. Rachel Fattal - A (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA/SOCAL)
5. KK Clark - D (Menlo Park, CA/UCLA/NYAC)
6. Maggie Steffens - A (Danville, CA/Stanford/NYAC)
7. Courtney Mathewson - A (Anaheim Hills, CA/UCLA/NYAC)
8. Kiley Neushul - A (Goleta, CA/Stanford/Santa Barbara)
9. Aria Fischer - C (Laguna Beach, CA/Laguna Beach HS/SET)
10. Kaleigh Gilchrist - A (Newport Beach, CA/USC/NYAC)
11. Makenzie Fischer - D (Laguna Beach, CA/Laguna Beach HS/SET)
12. Kami Craig - C (Santa Barbara, CA/USC/NYAC)
13. Ashleigh Johnson - GK (Miami, FL/Princeton/NYAC)
Head Coach: Adam Krikorian
Asst. Coaches: Dan Klatt and Chris Oeding
Team Manager: Jen Adams Funakura
About USA Water Poloย
USA Water Polo, Inc. is the national governing body for water polo in America, overseeing our United States Olympic program as well as 20 different championship events annually, such as Junior Olympics and Masters National Championships. With more than 40,000 members, USAWP is also the sanctioning authority for more than 500 Member Clubs and more than 400 tournaments nationwide. USAWP is committed to the development of the sport throughout the US. It fosters grass-roots expansion of the sport, providing a national system of affiliated clubs, certified coaches and officials.
