FINA World Women’s Junior Water Polo Championships
- Sept. 9-15, 2019
- Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal
- Venue: Funchal Olympic Pools Complex
- Competitors: 16 teams
- Live Scoring
Russia won its third World Women’s Junior Water Polo crown on Sunday with an 11-5 victory over the Netherlands. The Russians also captured the gold medal in 2009 and 2017.
The silver medal was the first for the Dutch and marked the third podium finish for the country (gold in 1995, bronze in 2017).
Italy captured its first ever World Junior Water Polo medal, clinching the bronze with a 9-8 win over Greece.
Final Standings
- Russia
- Netherlands
- Italy
- Greece
- Spain
- USA
- Hungary
- China
- Australia
- Canada
- Brazil
- South Africa
- Japan
- New Zealand
- Kazakhstan
- Portugal
Statistically Speaking
Russia led the scoring in the tournament with 104 goals, putting in 49.3 percent of its shots (211). Spain was second with 90 goals, while Italy was third with 89 scores. In terms of scoring efficiency, Japan was second (46.7 percent, 63 of 135) and Spain (44.1 percent, 90 of 204).
Individually, Russia’s Margarita Pystina scored a tournament-best 21 goals, while Italy’s Agnese Cocchiere and Spain’s Helena Zurita followed with 19 apiece. American Ryann Neushul, the Netherlands’ Simone Van de Kraats and Hungary’s Valyi Vanda rounded out the Top 5 with 18 scores each.
In terms of scoring efficiency, three players went 2-for-3 (Spain’s Berta Rosell and New Zealand’s Clodagh Weir and Georgia Milne). For those with more than 10 shots, Russia’s Pystina led the way, making 65.6 percent of her shots (21 of 32). Her teammate Polina Kempf was next with 63.0 percent (17 of 27), followed by Neushul (62.1 %, 18 of 29) and Italy’s Agnese Cocchiere (59.4 percent, 19 of 32).
Among goalkeepers, Italy’s Caterina Banchelli and Greece’s Marina Kotsioni led the way with 54 saves apiece. Brazil’s Thatiana Pregolini (53), Hungary’s Magnon Magyari Alda (45) and the Netherlands’ Sarah Buis (44) followed.
Russia’s Evgeniia Golovina was the most efficient goalkeeper among those facing more than 12 shots, saving 57.4 percent of the shots she faced (39 of 68). Teammate Svetlana Stepakhina saved 57.1 percent of her chances (12 of 21), while New Zealand’s Ella Harford (56.3%, 18 of 32), Banchelli (51.4%, 54 of 105) and Kotsioni (51.4%, 54 of 105) rounded out the Top 5.
Top Individual Match Scorers
| Goals | Player | Opponent | Date |
| 6 | Simone Van de Kraats, Netherlands | Brazil | 9/10. |
| 6 | Eleni Elliniadi, Greece | Canada | 9/10. |
| 6 | Ruby Swadling, Australia | South Africa | 9/13. |
| 6 | Bayley Weber, USA | China | 9/14. |
| 6 | Polina Kempf, Russia | Greece | 9/14. |
| 5 | Simone Van de Kraats, Netherlands | Spain | 9/9. |
| 5 | Margarita Pystina, Russia | Portugal | 9/9. |
| 5 | Helena Zurita, Spain | Kazakhstan | 9/10. |
| 5 | Margarita Pystina, Russia | Italy | 9/10. |
| 5 | Paige Tancrel, South Africa | Portugal | 9/10. |
| 5 | Margarita Pystina, Russia | South Africa | 9/11. |
| 5 | Dafne Bettini, Italy | Portugal | 9/11. |
| 5 | Ryann Neushul, USA | China | 9/14. |
| 4 | Kako Kawaguchi, Japan | USA | 9/9. |
| 4 | Vanda Valyi, Hungary | Australia | 9/9. |
| 4 | Chralize Andrews, Australia | Hungary | 9/9. |
| 4 | Helena Zurita, Spain | Netherlands | 9/9. |
| 4 | Lucrezia Cergol, Italy | South Africa | 9/9. |
| 4 | Eleni Kanetidou, Greece | New Zealand | 9/9. |
| 4 | Xu Rui, China | Canada | 9/9. |
| 4 | Polina Kempf, Russia | Portugal | 9/9. |
| 4 | Anastasiia Diachenko, Russia | Portugal | 9/9. |
| 4 | Tatiana Tolkunova, Russia | Portugal | 9/9. |
| 4 | Ana Dias, Brazil | Kazakhstan | 9/9. |
| 4 | Leticia Belorio, Brazil | Kazakhstan | 9/9. |
| 4 | Elia Velayos, Spain | Kazakhstan | 9/10. |
| 4 | Maxine Schaap, Netherlands | Brazil | 9/10. |
| 4 | Meng Xinyan, China | New Zealand | 9/10. |
| 4 | Maria M., Greece | Canada | 9/10. |
| 4 | Ruby Swadling, Australia | Japan | 9/10. |
| 4 | Charlize Andrews, Australia | Japan | 9/10. |
| 4 | Madalena Lousa, Portugal | South Africa | 9/10. |
| 4 | Elizaveta Zaplatina, Russia | South Africa | 9/11. |
| 4 | Helena Zurita, Spain | Brazil | 9/11. |
| 4 | Alejandra Diez, Spain | Brazil | 9/11. |
| 4 | Simone Van de Kraats, Netherlands | Kazakhstan | 9/11. |
| 4 | Lucrezia Cergol, Italy | Portugal | 9/11. |
| 4 | Anastassiya M., Kazakhstan | Portugal | 9/13. |
| 4 | Fuka Nishiyama, Japan | New Zealand | 9/13. |
| 4 | Emmerson Houghton, New Zealand | Japan | 9/13. |
| 4 | Jewel Roemer, USA | Italy | 9/13. |
| 4 | Maxine Schaap, Netherlands | China | 9/13. |
| 4 | Daria Chagochkina, Russia | Hungary | 9/13. |
| 4 | Vanda Valyi, Hungary | Russia | 9/13. |
| 4 | Eleni Elliniadi, Greece | Spain | 9/13. |
| 4 | Chen Xiao, China | USA | 9/14. |
| 4 | Polina Kempf, Russia | Netherlands | 9/15. |
| 4 | Kamilla Farago, Hungary | China | 9/15. |
Full Results
| Pool Play (Sept. 9-11) | |
| Group A | |
| Sept. 9 | Hungary def. Australia 10-9 |
| USA tied Japan 11-11 | |
| Sept. 10 | Australia def. Japan 11-10 |
| USA def. Hungary 8-7 | |
| Sept. 11 | Hungary def. Japan 12-10 |
| USA def. Australia 9-8 | |
| Group B | |
| Sept. 9 | Netherlands tied Spain 12-12 |
| Brazil def. Kazakhstan 15-10 | |
| Sept. 10 | Spain def. Kazakhstan 22-5 |
| Netherlands def. Brazil 19-7 | |
| Sept. 11 | Spain def. Brazil 14-3 |
| Netherlands def. Kazakhstan 16-4 | |
| Group C | |
| Sept. 9 | Italy def. South Africa 16-10 |
| Russia def. Portugal 24-3 | |
| Sept. 10 | Russia def. Italy 14-11 |
| South Africa def. Portugal 13-5 | |
| Sept. 11 | Russia def. South Africa 21-1 |
| Italy def. Portugal 18-4 | |
| Group D | |
| Sept. 9 | Greece def. New Zealand 15-9 |
| China def. Canada 12-9 | |
| Sept. 10 | China def. New Zealand 13-7 |
| Greece def. Canada 16-9 | |
| Sept. 11 | Greece def. China 8-6 |
| Canada def. New Zealand 8-4 | |
| Sept. 12 | |
| 13th to 16th | Japan def. Kazakhstan 19-5 |
| New Zealand def. Portugal 18-3 | |
| Playoffs | Hungary def. Brazil 14-10 |
| Spain def. Australia 11-9 | |
| Italy def. Canada 18-6 | |
| China def. South Africa 13-5 | |
| Sept. 13 | |
| 15th Place | Kazakhstan def. Portugal 13-6 |
| 13th Place | Japan def. New Zealand 13-10 |
| 9th to 12th Place Seeding | Canada def. Brazil 9-7 |
| Australia def. South Africa 16-5 | |
| Quarterfinals | Italy def. USA 9-8 |
| Netherlands def. China 8-6 | |
| Russia def. Hungary 18-11 | |
| Greece def. Spain 10-8 | |
| Sept. 14 | |
| 11th Place | Brazil def. South Africa 13-12 |
| 9th Place | Australia def. Canada 14-5 |
| 5th through 8th Seeding | USA def. China 16-10 |
| Spain def. Hungary 13-8 | |
| Semifinals | Netherlands def. Italy 11-8 |
| Russia def. Greece 16-9 | |
| Sept. 15 | |
| 7th Place | Hungary def. China 12-7 |
| 5th Place | Spain def. 10-9 |
| Bronze Medal | Italy def. Greece 9-8 |
| Gold Medal | Russia def. Netherlands 11-5 |