Team USA: Kunshan Cup and World University Games Changes

Originally Posted on "On The Deck"

*Image Credit: Totalwaterpolo.com

Hello water polo faithful,

As of yesterday, Team USA began the next cycle of tournaments leading up to the 2020 Olympic qualification and 2020 Olympic Games.

Since the NCAA Tournament, Team USA is currently (as I write this) competing in the Kunshan Cup in Kunshan, China. USA Water Polo has compared this tournament to a preliminary tournament to the World League Super Final which will be in Shanghai, China which will begin next Tuesday, June 6th.

With that said, you may notice a thing or two that stands out on this year’s roster: GK – Mia Rycraw (Walnut, CA/Arizona State/Sun Devil) GK – Gabby Stone (La Jolla, CA/Stanford/San Diego Shores)* D – Melissa Seidemann (Walnut Creek, CA/Stanford/NYAC)^ C – Aria Fischer (Laguna Beach, CA/Laguna Beach HS/SET)^ C – Brigitta Games (Littleton, CO/USC/Trojan)` D – Makenzie Fischer (Laguna Beach, CA/Stanford/SET)* D – Alys Williams (Huntington Beach, CA/UCLA/HBWPC)` D – Jordan Raney (Manhattan Beach, CA/Stanford/Stanford WPF)* A – Mary Brooks (Fresno, CA/UC-Irvine/SOCAL)` A – Jamie Neushul (Goleta, CA/Stanford/Santa Barbara 805)* A – Kiley Neushul (Goleta, CA/Stanford/NYAC) A – Maddie Musselman (Newport Beach, CA/UCLA/CdM Aquatics)` A – Paige Hauschild (Santa Barbara, CA/San Marcos HS/Santa Barbara 805)^

This team features four 2017 NCAA Champions (Stanford and the *), four players who competed in the NCAA Tournament(`), and three players from the FINA Intercontinental Tournament(^). The other two players that round out this roster either competed in Rio (K. Neushul), or lead her team to a Top 10 finish in 2017 (Rycraw).

Maggie Steffens and Rachal Fattal will not be in attendance as they will be at the Cutino Awards Ceremony. They will however join Team USA for the World League Super Final which is that following week.

This definitely indicates how crucial performances were at the NCAA Tournament, based on the number of players selected. There are also new faces to the goaltending with Stone and Rycraw defending between the pipes. This team will be taking a shift from the team we had seen win Rio, which featured Ashleigh Johnson and Sami Hill. Johnson and Hill will by far be hard acts to follow. Both players had standout collegiate seasons, and will likely go back and forth depending on the level of competition.

As for the 2017 World University Games, one of two major changes for Team USA will be coming: first USA Water Polo has designated the coaches for their men’s and women’s team to be James Graham (head coach at University of the Pacific) and Dan Klatt (head coach at UC-Irvine) respectively.

This also means that the teams that go to the WUG are not the NCAA Tournament winners (Cal on the men’s side, Stanford for the women’s). Instead it will (likely) be based on All-American accolades and availability for players (citizenship may also be a factor too).

On one hand, this does show more of the talent US players have and can demonstrate on an international scale. However, the other side of this is also the fact that we are more likely to see the roster for these games consist of National Team players rather than collegiate players who may never see the international stage again. It is a sure fire way to assert the level of skill and dominance the US has, but does not allow other players to develop their own skills and experience. It’s a double edged sword, and it seems that the future of this format will largely be based on how Team USA does in August.

The roster for that tournament has yet to be determined, but the All-American selections are set to be published this Friday by the ACWPC. It is at that point, that we as fans can let the predictions begin.

So until next time (where much of the latest post can be expected to revolve around results of Kunshan and predictions for WLSF), have a great week and I will see you on the deck.