USA Women to Host Canada in Northern California Exhibition

Roseville, Calif., June 21, 2002—The U.S. women’s water polo team will take on Canada in a pre-tournament exhibition in Roseville (Calif.) on July 2.
The 7:30 p.m. game at the Roseville Aquatic Center will give the U.S. some extra competition as well as serving as a preview for the opening night match-up scheduled for the Holiday Cup, which begins on July 4 in Palo Alto.

This will mark the second year in a row that Roseville has hosted a major international women’s water polo exhibition. Last year, over 1,000 fans flocked to the Roseville Aquatic Center to see the U.S. take on Australia in a rematch of the thrilling 2000 Olympic gold medal game.

This year, it will be Canada sharing the Roseville spotlight with the U.S. The Canadians have been one of Team USA’s strongest rivals in recent years, but U.S. head coach Guy Baker believes his northern neighbors to be as much an ally as an adversary.

“Our relationship with Canada has been, and will continue to be, important for the success of both teams,” he said. “Europe does a lot of things in
their continent to strengthen the quality of the sport there. So we need to keep working with Canada to do that here and competing with each other is part of that equation.”

The exhibition will be the third stop for the U.S. women on their home schedule this summer. In early June, the women hosted a field of four in Chicago (Ill.) at the USA Cup and, just last week, Team USA hosted 2001 World Champion Italy in a pair of contests at the USA Water Polo National Aquatic Center in Los Alamitos (Calif.). Roseville, however, will be just a
pit stop for Baker and company before heading west to Palo Alto for the team’s largest annual domestic tournament, the Holiday Cup.

“Our goal has been to do stuff outside the usual areas,” said Baker. “We want to increase our exposure in every possible way and give lots of different crowds a chance to see this level of women’s water polo.”

Gates at the Roseville Aquatic Center will open at 5:30 p.m., a half-hour before a series of age group scrimmages between the American River and Davis
Water Polo clubs.

The Holiday Cup will run from July 4-7 at the Avery Aquatic Complex at Stanford University. Brazil and Japan will join the U.S. and Canada in the
four-day affair.

2002 HOLIDAY CUP SCHEDULE*^

Date Time
Thursday, July 4 7:00 p.m. Japan vs Brazil
Thursday, July 4 8:00 p.m. USA vs Canada
Friday, July 5 7:00 p.m. Japan vs Canada
Friday, July 5 8:00 p.m. USA vs Brazil
Saturday, July 6 7:00 p.m. Canada vs Brazil
Saturday, July 6 8:00 p.m. USA vs Japan
Sunday, July 7 6:00 p.m. 3rd Place Game
Sunday, July 7 7:00 p.m. Championship

* All games at Avery Aquatic Complex, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.
^ All games Pacific Standard Time (PST)

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