2017 FINA World Championships: Women’s Water Polo Draw

Gabby Stone Will Backstop Team USA's at FINA Worlds. Photo Courtesy: USA Water Polo / Jeff Cable

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By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor

Beginning Sunday, July 16, the sixteen top women’s water polo teams in the world will descend upon Budapest’s Alfréd Hajós National Swimming Stadium to compete in the 17th FINA World Championships. After three days of group play—with the winner of each group of four qualifying for quarterfinal play—a one day playoff will determine the other four teams that advance.

The quarterfinals are July 24; the semifinals July 26 and the finals July 28.

Group A: Italy, Brazil, Canada, China

Group B: New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, United States

Group C: Japan, Netherlands, Hungary, France

Group D: Australia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Greece

The past three years the Americans have dominated international polo, with tournament wins in eight major championships. Their only recent stumble—and first loss of any kind since May 2016—occurred last month to Australia in the finals of the FINA Women’s Intercontinental Tournament.

Even without goalie Ashleigh Johnson, who last August backstopped Team USA to Olympic gold in Rio but this year is skipping international play, the U.S. is favored to retain the FINA World Championship title it won in 2015.

But holding onto the title won’t be easy. Hungary, the Netherlands, Australia and Italy are contenders to dethrone the Americans. The host Hungarians have perhaps the best shot at capturing FINA gold, but a surprising Canadian squad—which earlier this month captured silver in the FINA Women’s Water Polo World League Super Final in Shanghai, should not be overlooked.

Plus, Team USA is also playing against history. According to John Abdou, USA Water Polo’s Chief High Performance Officer, in the—albeit relatively brief—history of women’s water polo, no team has ever finished in the top four at the World Championships the year after winning the Gold medal at the Olympics.

In the format for FINA Worlds, four teams will directly advance from group play to the quarterfinals, four are eliminated, and the remaining eight play in four playoff matches on July 22 to determine the other quarterfinalists. The four most likely to go home from group play are: China, New Zealand, Japan and Kazakhstan.

Group play begins on Sunday, July 16. First day matches of note include Italy against Canada, and the Netherlands versus France. The Canadians, hoping to continue their recent success, will face the Italians, silver medalist in Rio and perennial contenders. The Dutch will look to quickly re-establish their status as a dominant program by beating the French.

Day Two is on July 18 and the top matchups include Australia versus Russia and the U.S. against Spain. After beating the Americans 10-7 in the FINA Intercontinental Tournament, the Aussies finished a disappointing seventh, of eight teams, in the recent World League Super Final. They look to rebound against a Russian team that placed third at the Super Finals.

USA’s Aria Fischer. Photo Courtesy: Jeff Cable

The US roster will likely feature seven players from the Rio Olympics—Maddie Musselman, Melissa Seidemann, Rachel Fattal, Maggie Steffens, Kiley Neushul, Aria Fischer and Makenzie Fischer. The biggest absence is Johnson, who—after winning the Peter J. Cutino Award as the best collegiate player in America—is taking the rest of the year off. Gabby Stone, fresh off an NCAA championship with Stanford, is an able replacement. Other likely newcomers include: goalie Mia Rycraw from Arizona State, USC hole set Brigitta Games, UC Irvine’s Mary Brooks and Stanford’s Jordan Raney. The Americans should handle the Spaniards and win the group but this is an early test of Team USA’s title hopes.

Day Three is July 20, and the most important match is Hungary versus Netherlands. The winner will likely win the group; the loser goes into a playoff for a quarterfinal spot. The Hungarians—with Dora Antal, Anna Illes and Rita Keszthelyi—have plenty of offense. The Dutch have missed the past two Olympic Games but have a core of young players, including Maud Megens, and will look to avenge a 9-7 loss in the 2016 European Championships. The winner will almost surely take the group; the loser must fight its way to the quarterfinals.

Likely to advance: Group A: Italy, Canada; Group B: Spain, United States; Group C: Netherlands, Hungary; Group D: Australia, Russia

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.

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