After concluding the 2013 season with strong performances, 12 members from the UCLA men’s and women’s water polo team will now look to make a splash in the international scene.
Seven members from the No. 2 UCLA men’s water polo team and five from the No. 3 UCLA women’s water polo team were selected by the respective junior national men’s and women’s coaches, James Lathrop and Dan Klatt, to represent the United States in the upcoming FINA Junior World Championships. This event will feature the top water polo players in the world under the age of 20.
The men’s team will be comprised of rising redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Garrett Danner, rising junior utility Danny McClintick and rising redshirt sophomore center Alec Zwaneveld. These active UCLA players on Team USA will be joined by several new UCLA recruits, center Matt Farmer, attacker Jack Fellner, attacker Ryder Roberts and defender Chancellor Ramirez.
These Bruins will pool their efforts with the rest of Team USA on Aug. 12 in Szombathely, Hungary as they seek a win against the Spaniards in the opening match of competition. Following this, Team USA will then move on to their other group opponents, Slovakia and Russia.
“I think we’re expecting to do well. I think this is one of the strongest groups we’ve ever seen,” McClintick said.
“We’re expecting to be at the podium at the end, and hopefully that’s first place, and I don’t think there’s any reason that we can’t compete with every single team that’s going to be in.”
The women’s team will feature the fluid offense of rising junior Emily Donohoe, who finished the season as UCLA’s most prolific scorer, with a total of 70 goals. Donohoe’s tally from last season cements her legacy at UCLA, as she now ranks third all-time in the list of Bruins with the most goals scored in a single season.
The women’s junior national team will also seek to tap into the talent of rising sophomore attacker Rachel Fattal. Fattal comes off a sensational freshman season where she led the team in several categories and scored a total of 68 goals. Although she finished second to Donohoe in scoring, she made waves of her own by setting a new record for the highest number of goals scored by a freshman in UCLA’s history.
Rising sophomore attacker Kodi Hill, rising sophomore defender Alys Williams and new UCLA recruit utility Mackenzie Barr complete the Bruin women’s water polo contingent that will travel to Volos, Greece for the championships. Over there, Team USA will face its first opponent, Kazakhstan, on Aug. 19 before squaring off against Italy and New Zealand in their subsequent group stage games.
In addition to the high level of competition they can expect to face, competing at the FINA Junior World Championships will also place the Bruins in an unfamiliar atmosphere.
The players hope that through these experiences, they’ll develop adaptive skills that will benefit them later in their careers as water polo players.
“There’s going to be big games over there with big crowds. Obviously it’s important to play as many of those as you can, because that experience is invaluable down the line and the other thing is also traveling and learning to play under not ideal circumstances,” McClintick said.
“I think one of the most important things is getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.”