Indiana University Athletics
Canadians Win Bronze at FINA Intercontinental Tournament
5/4/2015 12:09:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
Former Hoosiers Fournier, Gaudreault, and Kohli take third place with win over No. 2 China
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -The Canadian Women's Water Polo team won the bronze medal at the FINA Women's Intercontinental Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand on Sunday afternoon. Three former IU water polo players--Jakie Köhli, Shae Fournier, and Jessica Gaudreault--were among the thirteen players selected to represent Canada in the FINA intercontinental event.
The medal was Canada's first at a FINA competition in over two years. The win felt even sweeter, according to the players and coaches, since it came against China, the 2013 World League Champions.
"We're happy with the placing, it's better than last year," Gaudreault said, recapping her team's tournament performance. "We're just looking to grow as a team and we're doing that."
The tournament, which began on April 28, opened with three rounds of group games, followed by a group crossover and a gold medal playoff. The Canadians opened their group play with a 15-7 win over host New Zealand, in which Fournier scored two goals. Next, the Canadians took down Japan in a thrilling 15-13 win. The Canadians closed their group play with a 5-4 loss to Australia, the fourth-ranked team in the world.
Two wins in the group round gave Canada a favorable matchup against No. 11 Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals, which the Canadians won 11-3. The win placed the Canadians in the semifinal match against the top-ranked team in the world and their neighbor to the south, the United States of America. Canada played valiantly, but the Americans capitalized on a few slow moments for Canada and held strong in Canada's final rally. The United States sealed their spot in the gold medal match with am 11-9 win over Canada.
Following the loss, Canada moved into the bronze medal match against No. 2 China. The Chinese were able to force 11 Canadian exclusions, but it wasn't enough to keep Canada at bay. The Canadians rallied from a 3-2 halftime deficit with a 7-4 second half in their favor, winning the Bronze medal over the second-ranked team in the world.
"I'm happy with the result for sure, winning with a lot of exclusions -- against China -- is difficult but we put ourselves in a difficult position," said Canada head coach Johanne Begin. "We controlled our emotions in the second half, applied the game plan, and it worked and we won."
View the full release from Water Polo Canada here.
Tournament Schedule - Canada Women's National Team | ||
|---|---|---|
Game | Opponent | Result |
Group Match 1 | #16 New Zealand | W, 15-7 |
Group Match 2 | # 19 Japan | W, 15-13 |
Group Match 3 | #4 Australia | L, 5-4 |
Quarterfinals | #11 Kazakhstan | W, 11-3 |
Semifinals | #1 United States | L, 11-9 |
Bronze Medal Match | #2 China | W, 9-7 |
Final Results - FINA Women's Intercontinental Tournament | ||
|---|---|---|
Finish | Team | Record |
Gold Medal | #1 United States | 6-0 |
Silver Medal | #4 Australia | 5-1 |
Bronze Medal | #8 Canada | 4-2 |
Fourth Place | #2 China | 3-3 |
Fifth Place | #14 Brazil | 2-4 |
| Sixth Place | #11 Kazakhstan | 2-4 |
| Seventh Place | #16 New Zealand | 2-4 |
Eighth Place | #19 Japan | 0-6 |
Media Contact: Nick Reith, nbreith@indiana.edu
