Water Polo Canada is proud to announce its official roster for the upcoming FINA World League Intercontinental Tournament, to be held from April 28 to May 3, 2015, in Auckland, New Zealand.
The Canadian women will leave their Montreal national training centre on April 20 and travel to New Zealand’s largest city, where they will compete against some of the best non-European teams in the world during this first major international event in 2015. In its main international competition in 2014, the team reached a 6th place finish at the FINA World League Super Final in China.
“We, the coaches, are looking forward to measuring the progress that has been done with this group,” said Canadian women’s national team Head Coach Johanne Bégin. “This is our first major competition in nearly a year and it’ll be a chance to see if the hard work done within our new team approach is starting to pay off,” she said.
Currently ranked 8th in the world, the Canadian women have been fully immersed in their preparations ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. While the women’s only Olympic qualifying event will be played out in late March 2016 in Gouda, Netherlands, the narrow window of opportunity makes each upcoming competitive opportunity in 2015 a particularly important endeavour.
Cap #, Name, Age, Position, Hometown, Province, Canadian Club
1 Jessica Gaudreault, 20, Goaltender Ottawa, ON, Capital Wave
2 Krystina Alogbo, 29, Attacker, Riviere-des-Prairies, QC, CAMO
3 Katrina Monton, 27, Center, Dorval, QC, DDO
4 Emma Louise Wright, 18, Attacker, Lindsay, ON, Shadow
5 Monika Catharina Eggens, 24, Attacker, Pitt Meadows, BC, Pacific Storm
6 Jacqueline Dominique Kohli, 24, Defender, Burnaby, BC, Pacific Storm
9 Carmen Camille Eggens, 26, Center & Utility, Pitt Meadows, BC, Pacific Storm
10 Christine Robinson, 30, Utility, Lachine, QC, DDO
11 Stephanie Valin, 28, Attacker, Pte-Claire, QC, DDO
12 Dominique Perreault, 30, Attacker, Montreal, QC, CAMO
13 Claire Dawn Wright, 20, Goaltender, Lindsay, ON, Shadow
A Elyse Lemay-Lavoie, 20, Utility, Montreal, QC, CAMO
A Alexa Danielle Tielmann, 20, Utility, Abbotsford, BC, Fraser Valley
A Axelle Crevier, 18, Attacker, Montreal, QC, CAMO
A Nicola Colterjohn, 22, Goaltender, Hamilton, ON, Hammer Club
Staff, Women’s Senior National Team
Head Coach: Johanne Bégin, Ste-Foy, QC
Assistant Coaches: Justin Oliveira, DDO, QC and Giovanni Puliafito, Catania, Italy
Team Manager: Laurence Melancon, Montreal, QC
Support Staff: Felix Croteau (physiotherapist)
“I know firsthand that, as an athlete, it is sometimes hard to be patient with preparation,” said Coach Bégin. “For example, we have some great young players coming up in the ranks who may not have been selected for this specific competition but will continue to build their place on the team. This summer’s FINA World Championships are also fast-approaching so it is important to know that we are fully committed to bringing our group up to the best possible level ahead of these crucial moments over the next 18 months,” she said.
In addition to Canada, the 2015 Intercontinental Tournament will welcome the women’s national teams from the USA (current olympic champions), Australia (current olympic bronze medalists), Brazil, China, Japan, Kazakhstan and New Zealand.
On Tuesday, April 28, Canada will meet New Zealand in its first preliminary round game within group B and will subsequently be matched with Japan on April 29 and Australia on April 30.