Thirteen Trojans Compete At FINA World Championships

USC water polo was well-represented in Budapest, Hungary, this month, with 13 Trojans — eight women and five men — in action for seven different countries at the 2017 FINA World Championships. When the waters finally calmed, three Women of Troy stepped onto the podium to claim medals at the event.

The USC women had their past, present and future take spots on the medal stand, with current Trojan goalie Amanda Longan alongside incoming freshman Paige Hauschild as gold-medalists with Team USA. Former Trojan All-American and 2013 NCAA champion Anni Espar had punched up three goals for Spain in that gold-medal match to finish the tournament with 13 total goals, but the United States had prevailed to give Espar and her Spanish teammates the silver medal. Also vying for medals on the women's side were two Canadian Trojans — both NCAA Champions — as USC grad Joelle Bekhazi (2010 national champion) and current Trojan Hayley McKelvey (2016 champ) each scored goals for Canada although it was Russia that managed to grab the bronze medal with a one-goal decision.

USC had three other Women of Troy capped up for their countries as well. Current Trojan Maud Megens was a scoring machine for the Netherlands, which finished up ninth at the event. Megens supplied three hat tricks for the Dutch, finishing with 13 total goals. Her USC teammate Victória Chamorro, meanwhile, was in the cage for Brazil, which took 14th overall. Finally, claiming eighth place was Australia, which boasts a powerful former Trojan presence in Hannah Buckling, who was a national champion at Troy alongside Espar in 2013. Longan, Chamorro and McKelvey all were members of USC's most recent national championship squad in 2016.

On the men's side, USC had five Trojans in action, with three-time NCAA Champion and 2013 Cutino Award winner Kostas Genidounias helping to generate a fourth-place finish for Greece after a loss to Olympic champion Serbia in the bronze-medal match. Genidounias hammered in nine goals for the Greeks, including a semifinal hat trick.

Team USA boasted three current Trojans, with 2017 Cutino Award winner McQuin Baron anchoring the cage for the United States while joined by fellow Olympian Thomas Dunstan and the incoming Marko Vavic. Baron averaged 11.2 saves per game for Team USA, which finished up 13th at the tournament. Meanwhile, their Trojan teammate Lachlan Edwards was doing work with Australia, which claimed seventh at the event. Edwards scored six goals for the Aussies, including a pair in the seventh-place victory, and will return to Troy for his senior season alongside senior Baron, sophomore Dunstan and freshman Vavic.

For more information on the 2017 FINA World Championships, go to www.fina.org/event/17th-fina-world-championships

TROJANS AT 2017 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

MEN
USA [13th]— McQuin Baron*, Thomas Dunstan*, Marko Vavic*
Australia [7th] — Lachlan Edwards*
Greece [4th] — Kostas Genidounias^

WOMEN
USA [GOLD] — Paige Hauschild*, Amanda Longan*^
Canada [4th] — Joelle Bekhazi^, Hayley McKelvey*^
Netherlands [9th] — Maud Megens*
Brazil [13th] — Victória Chamorro*^
Spain [SILVER] — Anni Espar^
Australia [8th] — Hannah Buckling^

^ = NCAA champion
* = current Trojan

Players Mentioned

McQuin Baron

Thomas Dunstan

Lachlan Edwards

Amanda Longan

Hayley McKelvey

Maud Megens

Marko Vavic