June 7, 2006

LOS ALAMITOS, CALIF. - The University of California women's water polo program has six players who have been selected to compete for USA National Teams this summer, it was announced Wednesday, June 7 by USA Water Polo. Junior Elsie Windes and freshman Stephanie Schnugg are among 20 athletes competing for a spot on the U.S. Senior National A Team. Sophomore goalie Heather Stuart, freshman Melissa Wheeler, and incoming freshmen Darby Anderson and Grace Reynolds, are candidates for the U.S. Senior National B Team or the Junior National Team.

Former Golden Bear standouts and two-time Olympians Ericka Lorenz and Heather Petri are also among the list of players on the National A Team.

Of the 20 athletes chosen to the U.S. Senior National A Team, seven will join the Senior B Team at the FINA World League preliminary round in Quebec City, Canada on July 7-9, 2006. Following the prelims, the Senior A Team will compete in the FINA World League Semifinals in Los Alamitos, Calif., on July 12-19, 2006, and the FINA World League Super Final in Athens, Greece on July 26-30, 2006. When the Super Final concludes, USA National Team coach Guy Baker and his staff will announce the 13 athletes who will represent Team USA at the World Cup in Tanjing, China on Aug. 8-13, 2006. The World Cup is the teams focus for 2006 and if the U.S. team finishes in fifth place or higher, it will qualify for the 2007 FINA World Championships. The international event is one of the last two major events prior to the Olympic Games. The Pan American Games is the women's Olympic Qualifier and it will take place July 16-29, 2007.

The U.S. Women's Junior National Team is a younger group of athletes. On June 24-26, the Junior National Team will have a training camp with the Senior National B Team. Following the camp, 14 players will be named to the team that will participate in two European tournaments, in Greece and Italy. The Junior National Team will also travel to Athens, Greece for the Pythia Cup on July 18-24.

This past spring, under the direction of first-year coach Richard Corso (former head men's water polo coach for the United States at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics), the Bears finished 18-9 overall and a school-record 9-3 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation league play. Cal was also an impressive 8-1 at home, losing only to No. 1-ranked USC, 7-5. The Bears were fifth in the MPSF Tournament, defeating Pacific (21-4) in the opening round, falling to Hawaii (10-8) in the quarterfinals, defeating San Diego State (7-5) in the semifinals and topping Arizona State (7-6) for fifth place. Windes was selected to the 2006 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation first-team, while Schnugg was picked as a member of the MPSF All-Freshman Team.

Windes, a standout from Portland, Ore., was the Bears' leading scorer with 40 goals, including four goals in the MPSF Tournament and two goals in Cal's 7-6 victory over Arizona State in the tournament's fifth-place match. She has now tallied 125 goals in three years. Windes is a two-time All-American as well. Schnugg, the daughter of former Cal men's water polo star Peter Schnugg (1973 NCAA Player of the Year), finished with 15 goals and was valuable performer at two-meters.