Women of Troy Seek Olympic Qualification With Team USA

July 11, 2007

The next step in several USC women's water polo players' quest to become Olympians begins this weekend. Five past and present Women of Troy will ride the momentum of winning gold at the FINA World League Super Final in Montreal into the 2007 Pan-American Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, where Team USA has a chance to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games. The U.S. roster is highlighted by five USC athletes as well as former Trojan, 2000 Olympian and current U.S. assistant coach Bernice Orwig. The five Trojans capped up for the USA are Patty Cardenas, Kami Craig, Erika Figge, Moriah Van Norman and Lauren Wenger.

The United States is coming off a successful run through the FINA World League, in which Team USA defended its title and won its second straight FINA Super Final gold at the competition in Montreal last week. There, Wenger led the Trojan pack with seven goals, including a pair in the gold-medal game where the USA topped Australia 8-4. Cardenas and Craig also tallied goals to help push the USA toward gold in the game, finishing the Super Final with five and four goals apiece. Figge and Van Norman scored twice in Montreal. Also representing the Women of Troy at the FINA Super Final was Spanish National Team member Anna Pardo - a 2006 graduate along with Van Norman and Wenger - who scored two goals and helped Spain take fifth. The United States opened against Spain with a win before also topping Australia, China and Greece and then facing Australia again in the gold-medal game.

The U.S. team now turns toward Rio and the Pan-American Games, which run July 14-20. The winner of the competition will secure the 2008 Olympic bid as the representative of the Americas. Traditionally, the United States' stiffest opponent in the Pan-American Games is Canada, which Team USA is scheduled to face on the third day of competition (July 16). The top four of the six teams after round-robin play will move into the semifinals on July 19, with the winners squaring off on July 20 to decide the Americas' Olympic team. The United States won gold and the Olympic qualification at the 2003 Pan-American Games, while Canada earned the nod in the 1999 Pan-American Games, leaving the USA to aim for qualification in a tougher tournament in Italy among many tough European teams. Still, the United States has managed to qualify for and medal in the last two Olympic Games, earning silver in 2000 and bronze in 2004.

The last United States Olympic women's water polo player hailing from USC was Orwig as a silver-medalist in 2000. Currently, there are six USC athletes training with Team USA. Cardenas, Craig, Figge, Van Norman and Wenger are joined by Brittany Hayes as members of the U.S. National Team. Hayes was named an alternate for the USA's Pan-American Games roster.

2007 Pan-American Games - Women's Water Polo Schedule

July 14: Cuba vs. Puerto Rico        USA vs. Venezuela    Canada vs. Brazil
July 15: Puerto Rico vs. Canada        USA vs. Cuba    Venezuela vs. Brazil
July 16: Cuba vs. Venezuela        USA vs. Canada    Brazil vs. Puerto Rico
July 17: Venezuela vs. Puerto Rico        Cuba vs. Canada        USA vs. Brazil
July 18: USA vs. Puerto Rico    Canada vs. Venezuela    Brazil vs. Cuba
July 19: 5th-place game    Semifinal 1    Semifinal 2
July 20: Bronze-medal game    Gold-medal game

PAN AMERICAN GAMES LINK: http://www.rio2007.org.br/
USA WATER POLO LINK: http://www.usawaterpolo.org

2007 U.S. Women's Pan American Games Roster 1   Elizabeth Armstrong    Goalkeeper  Ann Arbor, MI (Michigan) 2   Heather Petri      Attacker    Orinda, CA (California) 3   Erika Figge            Attacker   Dove Canyon, CA (USC) 4   Brenda Villa            Attacker   Commerce, CA (Stanford) 5   Lauren Wenger            Defender   Long Beach, CA (USC) 6   Natalie Golda           Defender   Fullerton, CA (UCLA) 7   Patty Cardenas      Attacker   Commerce, CA (USC) 8   Jessica Steffens    Defender   Danville, CA (Stanford) 9   Elsie Windes            Defender   Portland, OR (California) 10  Alison Gregorka     Defender   Ann Arbor, MI (Stanford) 11  Moriah Van Norman    Center      San Diego, CA (USC) 12  Kami Craig              Center         Santa Barbara, CA (USC) 13  Jaime Hipp              Goalkeeper     Seal Beach, CA (UCLA) alternate   Brittany Hayes

Women of Troy Seek Olympic Qualification With Team USA

Players Mentioned

Patty Cardenas

Kami Craig

Erika Figge

Erika Figge

Brittany Hayes

Brittany Hayes

Anna Pardo

Moriah Van Norman

Moriah Van Norman

Lauren Wenger

Lauren Wenger

Trojans footer

University Southern California Trojans

Women of Troy Seek Olympic Qualification With Team USA

Players Mentioned

Patty Cardenas

Kami Craig

Erika Figge

Erika Figge

Brittany Hayes

Brittany Hayes

Anna Pardo

Moriah Van Norman

Moriah Van Norman

Lauren Wenger

Lauren Wenger

Related Videos

Trojans footer