STAMFORD, Conn. – March 22, 2016 – The USA Water Polo Women’s National Team – the world’s top ranked women’s water polo team – will attempt to qualify for the upcoming 2016 Rio Olympic Games this Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, as NBC Sports Group provides unprecedented coverage of the FINA Women’s Water Polo Olympic Qualification Tournament.
This marks the first time that the USA Water Polo Women’s Olympic qualification match will be televised nationally.NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs – will live stream all four quarterfinal matches on Saturday, including Team USA’s Olympic qualifier, beginning at 7 a.m. ET.
The four teams that advance from the quarterfinal round qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio this August. The quarterfinal matchups will be determined following group play this week.
Paul Burmeister (play-by-play) and U.S. Olympic silver medalist Julie Swail (analyst) will provide commentary for Team USA’s Olympic qualification match on NBCSN.
The USA Water Polo Women’s National Team are the defending Olympic gold medalists, following their first Olympic gold medal in London in 2012, and Team USA is the only nation to medal in every Olympic Games that has offered women’s water polo (dating back to 2000). Team USA is ranked No. 1 in the world and has captured the “water polo grand slam,” as it is the current Olympic, World, World Cup and World League champions.
Players returning from the 2012 Olympic gold medal team include captain Maggie Steffens, who was named FINA Women’s Water Player of the Year in 2012 and 2014, as well as Kami Craig,Melissa Seidemann, and Courtney Mathewson.
Following is the telecast and streaming schedule for coverage of the FINA Women’s Water Polo Olympic Qualification Tournament:
| Date | Coverage | Network | Time (ET) |
| Sat., March 26 | Women’s Water Polo Olympic Qualification Quarterfinal | NBC Sports Live Extra | 7 a.m. |
| Women’s Water Polo Olympic Qualification Quarterfinal | NBC Sports Live Extra | 8:45 a.m. | |
| Women’s Water Polo Olympic Qualification Quarterfinal | NBC Sports Live Extra | 11 a.m. | |
| Women’s Water Polo Olympic Qualification Quarterfinal | NBC Sports Live Extra | 12:45 p.m. | |
| Team USA vs. TBA Olympic Qualifier* | NBCSN | 4:30 p.m. |
*same-day delay
THE RIO OLYMPICS BEGIN AUGUST 5, 2016
About NBC Olympics
A division of NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s Olympic coverage. It is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history. The 2012 London Olympics were watched by 217 million Americans, making it the most-watched event in U.S. television history.
Having produced every Summer Olympics since Seoul in 1988 and every Winter Olympics since Salt Lake City in 2002, the networks of NBCUniversal are synonymous with the Games in the United States. NBCUniversal has the U.S. media rights on all platforms to all Olympic Games through 2032. At the conclusion of the 2032 Games, NBCUniversal will have presented 23 total Olympic Games and 17 consecutive, the most for a U.S. media company in both categories.
NBC has won an unprecedented 95 Emmy Awards for its Olympics coverage, as well as a prestigious Peabody Award for its presentation of the Beijing Opening Ceremony in 2008, which USA Today said was “the best overall Olympic experience ever provided by a U.S. network.”
Swimming news courtesy of USA Water Polo.