Joy and Sadness Mingle as Krikorian Announces 2021 US Olympic Women’s Water Polo Roster
Emphasizing that his team had endured 453 days without playing due to the Coronavirus pandemic that has claimed almost four million lives globally, U.S. Women’s Water Polo Head Coach Adam Krikorian introduced the 13 athletes selected to represent America in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, scheduled to begin on July 23
It was mostly a celebration—the American women are prohibitive favorites to capture a third straight gold medal in the upcoming Games, which would place them with the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Hungarian men’s teams as they only three-peats in Olympic water polo history—and the 13 women announced on Wednesday are the fortunate ones. Despite the bright California sunshine and optimistic words from Krikorian and Maggie Steffens, the team captain who has led the previous two Olympic squads, there was a somewhat subdued cast to the affair, curated by Greg Mescall, USA Water Polo Director of Communications.
The most telling marker of disappointment was when Krikorian opened his remarks by thanking the five women who did not make the cut: Brigitta Games, Gabby Stone, Ryann Neushul, Tara Prentice and Jordan Raney. The only surprise in this was that Raney, who has spent the last five years pursuing her own Olympic dreams, was left off the Tokyo squad.
Jordan Raney competing against Canada at 2019 Holiday Cup. Photo: Sherie Key / USAWP
The surprise roster addition is Alys Williams, who after being among the last cuts to in 2016, redoubled her efforts during more than a year without competition. She joins four other newcomers to the U.S. Olympic roster: Stephania Haralabidis, a talented lefty who forsook her native Greece for a powerhouse American program; Paige Hauschild, one of the more physically gifted athletes in the sport; Jamie Neushul, like Williams, one of the final cuts for the 2016 squad; and Amanda Longan, who will back up Ashleigh Johnson, the most dominant female goalie in the sport.
Filling out the 2021 Olympic roster behind Haralabidis, Hauschild, Longan, Johnson, Neushul and Williams are Steffens and Melissa Seidemann—both gunning for a third straight gold; Maddie Musselman, Rachel Fattal, Aria and Mackenzie Fischer and Kaleigh Gilchrist, all of whom were in Rio in 2016 for the U.S. gold-medal effort.
Under a new format for the Tokyo Games, each nation will declare 12 active players before each match of the competition. The reduction in game day roster size from 13 to 12 was part of an expansion in the overall number of teams competing. The size of the women's tournament is now 10 countries, up from eight in previous Olympics, making it the largest Olympic women's water polo tournament ever.
In seeking to put the moment in an historical perspective, Krikorian presented a subdued picture of the past year, which saw all athletic competition halted for months due to COVID-19. The U.S. coach—who has led the program for more than a decade—mentioned his team’s collective struggle to stay unified despite health-related lockdowns which adversely affected the mental health of so many. Krikorian also paid tribute to Title IX, the landmark Congressional legislation that 49 years ago tipped the balance for women to compete in athletics by demanding—if not always effecting—equality between the sexes in a broad range of public circumstances.
It IS a joyous occasion
It is tremendous accomplishment to make an Olympic squad and making the cut when competing against previous gold medalists—the U.S. has eight returners from its previous Olympic squads—make the achievement of Haralabidis, Hauschild, Longan, Neushul and Williams that much more noteworthy. The squad hung tough and together over the interminable months last year when, instead of focusing on preparations on the Olympic Games that are the highest level of competition for their sport, team members needed to check in daily on how they were faring absent accustomed training routines and rising coronavirus death tolls.
Alys Williams playing for Team USA. Photo: USAWP
Williams in particular has been celebrated for her perseverance; there’s no question that the former UCLA Bruin struck a sympathetic note as she overcame previous rejection and to join the most accomplished team in Olympic women’s water polo history—one that since the last Olympics has lost just three matches while winning 125 times, including seven major championships.
Jamie Neushul also represents a happy story line for the Americans. Her sister Kiley—one of the mainstays of the Rio team—retired recently from competition to start life anew with her husband Gabi Hernandez, one-time Pro Recco and Spanish national team coach. This change may have opened the way for another Neushul to rise to the level of an Olympian; certainly, Jamie’s dedication paid off just as much as William’s. Both will now have a chance to be part of history when the top-seeded Americans open their gold-medal defense on July 24 in Tokyo’s Tatsumi International Swimming Center.
But that joy is tempered by the sadness of Raney’s exclusion from the ultimate polo party. A key participant in much of this team’s success—and an NCAA champion in 2015, 2017 with Stanford—she has been as determined as anyone in her sport to make the Olympic cut. That she fell short has little to do with her ability; it’s likely Raney would start for any of the other nine women’s squads that qualified for the 2021 Olympics. Rather, it’s a testament to how talented Krikorian’s roster is—Ryann Neushul, the last of the illustrious Neushul clan, is just 20 and sure to be in the mix for the Paris Games in 2024.
Raney has the option of following Haralabidis’s path and switch nationalities, but after playing at such a high level, it may be unimaginable to go elsewhere for your sport, especially when you’ve had the honor of playing with Fattal, Johnson, Seidmann and Steffens—some of the best women to have ever suited up.