Women’s Water Polo: Team USA features local trio

Carlee Kapana (Newport Harbor High), Maddie Musselman (Corona del Mar) and Kaleigh Gilchrist (Newport Harbor alumna, USC) are on the 13-athlete roster that will represent Team USA at the FINA Women’s Intercontinental Tournament April 28-May 3 in Auckland, New Zealand, as announced by Coach Adam Krikorian.

Team USA will open competition on April 28 against Brazil. The Americans will also take on China and Kazakhstan to close out group play. The top four finishers from this event will qualify for the FINA World League Super Final.

With the NCAA women’s water polo season still in full swing during this competition, the USA squad will be comprised of National Team veterans and rising stars from the high school game.

Kapana, the Sailors’ standout goalie bound for UCLA, will start for Team USA in net. She was recently named MVP of the Sunset League.

Musselman was the Pacific Coast League MVP.

— From staff reports

Team USA

GK - Carlee Kapana (Newport Harbor, CA/Newport Harbor HS/Newport WPF)

Colleen O’Donnell (Palos Verdes, CA/USC/NYAC)

Melissa Seidemann (Walnut Creek, CA/Stanford/NYAC)

Makenzie Fischer (Laguna Beach, CA/Laguna Beach HS/SET)

KK Clark (Menlo Park, CA/UCLA/NYAC)

Maddie Musselman (Newport Beach, CA/Corona del Mar HS/CdM Aquatics)

Courtney Mathewson (Anaheim Hills, CA/UCLA/NYAC)

Aria Fischer (Laguna Beach, CA/Laguna Beach HS/SET)

Madison Berggren (Tualatin, OR/Tualatin HS/Tualatin Hills WPC)

Kaleigh Gilchrist (Newport Beach, CA/USC/Trojan)

Paige Hauschild (Santa Barbara, CA/San Marcos HS/805 WPC)

Kami Craig (Santa Barbara, CA/USC/Santa Barbara)

GK - Betsey Armstrong (Ann Arbor, MI/Michigan/NYAC)