Team USA Water Polo Preview

Date: July 23, 2021

By: Liam Plate

The USA Water Polo team stands around a pool to take a photo.

POBY and USAWP

One sport you don’t see every day in the United States that will be one to watch this summer in Tokyo is Water Polo. I know personally it is one of my favorite sports to watch when it comes to the Olympics, and it looks like it’s shaping up to be a competitive field and the United States will hope to make a splash in the tournament.

Starting off with the men’s team, they head into the Olympics with a team lead by veterans and have plenty of experience. Jesse Smith is leading the team in his fifth Olympics, which is tied for the record of most Olympics for the men’s Water Polo team (tied with Tony Azevedo). Smith is joined by four other players who competed in the 2016 Olympics including Alex Bowen, Luca Cupido, Ben Hallock, and Alex Obert.

Smith brings a plethora of experience at all levels of the sport, with even an Olympic silver medal that he earned in 2008 in Beijing. Bowen has spent his time getting ready for the games in clubs across Europe. Hallock and Obert are strong offensive threats for the Americans. Hallock is coming off a Champions League championship and brings experience of his past NCAA Championship. Obert also went far in the Champions League this past season as his Croatian club advanced to the final eight. Cupido also will be another offensive option for the stars and stripes, especially when it comes down to the wire.

A water polo athlete attempts to throw the ball in a pool during an event.

USA Water Polo

Hallock spoke about what it meant to be named to his second Olympic Games, “Being named to my second Olympic Games is incredible, it’s been a long journey since 2016. It’s a completely new group of guys and the work we’ve put in has been awesome, I can’t wait to get to Tokyo. I think the team has come together really nicely and we’re ready to fight for each other in Tokyo.”

Team USA’s eight first timers include Max Irving, Hannes Daube, Alex Wolf, Drew Holland, Mark Vavic, Ben Stevenson, Johnny Hooper, and Dylan Woodhead. Irving and Daube also made an appearance in the Champions League final eight where they were teammates. Holland earned the honor of being named the best goalkeeper of the 2021 FINA World League Super Final.

Team USA won the silver medal at the FINA World League Super Final this year. It was the third time in U.S. history that the men’s national team won the silver medal at the tournament. The last time the men’s national team won an Olympic medal was in 2008 when the team won silver.

The USA Water Polo team poses for a photo before the Olympics.

USA Water Polo

Moving to the women’s team, they will be led by two-time Olympic gold medalists Maggie Steffens and Melissa Seidemann. Other returners on the team are Ashleigh Johnson, Maddie Musselman, Makenzie Fisher, Kaleigh Gilchrist, Rachel Fattal, and Aria Fischer. All the names listed above were a part of the 2016 gold medal team for the United States.

The Fischer sisters are both great two-way players and Aria Fischer is a nightmare to any defender in the pool. Gilchrist is returning off a leg injury that she suffered in the 2019 FINA World Championships. On the other hand, Johnson will make her return as goalkeeper in another quest for gold.

Team USA Water Polo Attacker Kaleigh Gilchrist wrote a thank you letter to her athletic trainer Larnier Boquiren, MS, ATC that might make ya tear up a bit. This is what it's all about. #at4all #tokyo2020 https://t.co/GQvIz0V2TD pic.twitter.com/tkr0L6nfoE
— Go4Ellis (@go4ellis) July 20, 2021

As for the newcomers on this Olympics’ squad, you have Alys Williams, Paige Hauschild, Jamie Neushul, Amanda Longan, and Stephania Haralabidis. Williams is the first woman in women’s national team history to be the last cut of the previous Olympics and make the team the next games. The versatility continues with the newcomers with Hauschild and Neushal on the offensive side along with Haralabidis, who is the first left-handed player to make the team since 2008. Longan will also serve as a solid backup for Johnson at goalkeeper.

The United States of America have held the No. 1 ranking and have won every major title in international play since 2014. The women’s national team is the only country to win two Olympic gold medals in a row. And the USA is the only country to medal in every single Olympics that has featured women’s water polo (two gold medals, two silver, and one bronze).

The USA women's water polo team stands to take a photo after winning medals.

USA Water Polo

There have been some changes on the women’s side as the Olympic Committee has expanded the field from eight countries to 10 countries. The 32nd Olympiad will feature the largest pool of countries for women’s water polo ever.

There will be a new format for both men’s and women’s water polo this year. Each country will pick 12 players out of their 13-player roster to make active before each match. This reduction is in result of the Olympic Committee expanded the overall number of teams competing on both the men’s and women’s side.

Team USA looks to end up on top of the world of Water Polo when it comes down to the end in Tokyo. The women’s team will have higher expectations on their side as they are the perennial favorites of the event, but they have the experience, versatility, and firepower to become the first country to win gold in three straight Olympics in women’s Water Polo. The men’s team has solid experience and leadership that will come in handy once they get out of group play and will give them a chance to compete with some of the more talented European countries like Hungary, Italy, Spain, and Greece.

Prediction

Men’s team: Bronze

Women’s team: Gold

Liam Plate can be reached at liam.plate@student.shu.edu.

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