Australia women's national water polo team

History

The Australian women's water polo team played their first international in 1975. Since that time they have gone from strength to strength. The team have often had to struggle with lack of funding, but despite that continued to perform credibly on the international stage.

Following 6th place at the 1994 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, Italy, they won the women's Water polo World Cup at home in Sydney, Australia, in 1995. In 1996, the women won the silver medal in the Olympic Year Tournament behind the Netherlands, then finished with bronze in the following year's World Cup in Nancy, France. Australia continued their successful mid-1990s run by winning the bronze medal at the 1998 World Aquatics Championships in Perth, and remarkably over the rest of 1998 and 1999 were unbeatable, winning the four international tournaments they contested in the Netherlands, Italy, the United States and Hungary.

After an incredible 14 month winning streak, they only managed the silver at the 1999 world cup in Winnipeg, Canada.

Another success came in 1997 when it was announced that women's Water polo would be included in the Olympic Games for the first time at their home Olympics in Sydney.

Having had an excellent build up to the 2000 Summer Olympic Games at home in Sydney, the team went into the first Olympic tournament at home. They only lost one match to the powerful Dutch side in that historic campaign, on the way to winning the first ever women's Olympic gold medal in front of an ecstatic home crowd.

In an incredible Olympic final, the evenly matched US and Australian sides were tied 3–3 with 1.3 seconds remaining on the clock, when Yvette Higgins blasted in a nine-metre shot from a free throw. The ball crossed the goal-line 0.2s from the final hooter to give Australia a 4–3 win, and the gold medal.

The Australian team which won the gold medal at the Sydney Olympics was composed of Naomi Castle, Jo Fox, Bridgette Gusterson (C), Simone Hankin, Kate Hooper, Yvette Higgins, Bronwyn Mayer, Gail Miller, Melissa Mills, Debbie Watson, Liz Weekes, Danielle Woodhouse, and Taryn Woods.

The team was brought back down to earth with an Olympic hangover in 2001, only managing 5th in the World Championships of that year. This dip in form was short lived, however, as they won the inaugural Commonwealth Water Polo Championships title in Manchester, England in 2002, beating world No 3 Canada 6–5 in the final.

The Australian women then suffered another lean patch, finishing 7th at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain, 4th at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, and 6th at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The team returned to successful ways by taking the bronze at the 2005 FINA Water Polo World League event in Kirishi, Russia, and at the 2007 Water polo world championship in Melbourne, Australia by taking the silver medal, after losing a hard fought final 5–6 to the US team.

At the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, the team took the bronze medal after beating Hungary for 3rd place in a penalty shootout.

The first history of the sport in Australia was launched in February 2009, under the title 'Water Warriors: Chronicle of Australian Water Polo', by Dr. Tracy Rockwell. The 592 page publication features over 1,300 images and is an in-depth reference on water polo in Australia from its very first match in 1879 to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. An updated edition is being planned.

Honours

Water polo at the Summer Olympics:

Gold medal 2000 Sydney Olympics

Bronze medal 2008 Beijing Olympics

Bronze medal 2012 London Olympics

FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup:

Gold medal 1984 Women's Water polo World Cup Los Angeles & 1995 Women's Water polo World Cup Sydney, Silver medal 1999 World Cup in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

World Championships:

Gold medal inaugural 1986 Women's Water polo world championship, Silver medal 1996 FINA World Aquatics Championships & 2007 Water polo world championship Melbourne, Australia, Bronze medal World Swimming Championships in Perth in 1998

Commonwealth Water Polo Championships:

Gold medal England 2002.

Olympic Games

2000 — 1st place

2004 — 4th place

2008 — 3rd place

2012 — 3rd place

2016 — 6th place

Olympic Year Tournament

1996 — 2nd place

FINA World Championship

1986 — 1st place

1991 — 5th place

1994 — 6th place

1998 — 3rd place

2001 — 5th place

2003 — 7th place

2005 — 6th place

2007 — 2nd place

2009 — 6th place

2011 — 5th place

2013 — 2nd place

2015 — 4th place

FINA World League

2004 — 7th place

2005 — 3rd place

2006 — 4th place

2007 — 2nd place

2008 — 3rd place

2009 — 3rd place

2010 — 2nd place

2011 — 3rd place

2012 — 2nd place

2014 — 3rd place

2015 — 2nd place

2016 — 3rd place

FINA World Cup

1979 — 3rd place

1980 — 4th place

1981 — 3rd place

1983 — 3rd place

1984 — 1st place

1988 — 5th place

1989 — 5th place

1991 — 2nd place

1993 — 4th place

1995 — 1st place

1997 — 3rd place

1999 — 2nd place

2002 — 6th place

2006 — 1st place

2010 — 2nd place

Holiday Cup

1998 — 1st place

1999 — 1st place

2000 — 3rd place

2003 — 4th place

2006 — 3rd place

2007 — 5th place

Current squad

The following is the Australian roster in the women's water polo tournament of the 2016 Summer Olympics. ‹See Tfd›

Head coach: Greg McFadden

Squads

1984 FINA World Cup — Gold medal

Kerri Cain, Lisa Copeland, Debbie Handley, Amanda Leeson, Jackie Northam, Katie McAdams, Wendy Meloncelli, Kerry Mills, Sandy Mills, Cathy Parkers, Janet Rayner, Julie Sheperd, and Debbie Watson.

1986 World Championship — Gold medal

Judy Gair, Debbie Handley, Amanda Leeson, Katie McAdams, Megan Meloncelli, Wendy Meloncelli, Lynne Morrison, Sandy Mills, Jackie Northam, Cathy Parkers, Janet Rayner, Julie Sheperd, and Debbie Watson.

1995 FINA World Cup — Gold medal

Naomi Castle, Loris Darvill, Kylie English, Claire Finucane, Bridgette Gusterson, Yvette Higgins, Bronwyn Mayer, Stephanie Neesham, Debbie Watson, Liz Weekes, Sharan Wheelock, Danielle Woodhouse, and Taryn Woods.

1998 World Championship — Bronze medal

Naomi Castle, Simone Dixon, Kylie English, Bridgette Gusterson, Yvette Higgins, Bronwyn Mayer, Melissa Mills, Stephanie Neesham, Marian Taylor, Liz Weekes, Sharan Wheelock, Danielle Woodhouse, and Taryn Woods.

2000 Olympic Games — Gold medal

Naomi Castle, Joanne Fox, Bridgette Gusterson, Simone Hankin, Yvette Higgins, Kate Hooper, Bronwyn Mayer, Gail Miller, Melissa Mills, Debbie Watson, Liz Weekes, Danielle Woodhouse, and Taryn Woods. Head Coach: István Gorgenyi.

2003 World Championship — 7th place

Emma Knox, Rebecca Rippon, Nikita Cuffe, Naomi Castle, Bronwyn Smith, Jemma Brownlow, Jodie Stuhmcke, Kate Gynther, Elise Norwood, Taryn Woods, Melissa Rippon, Joanne Fox, and Melissa Byram. Head Coach: István Gorgenyi.

2004 Olympic Games — 4th place

Belinda Brooks, Jemma Brownlow, Naomi Castle, Nikita Cuffe, Joanne Fox, Kate Gynther, Kelly Heuchan, Emma Knox, Elise Norwood, Melissa Rippon, Rebecca Rippon, Bronwyn Smith, and Jodie Stuhmcke.

2005 FINA World League — Bronze medal

Victoria Brown, Nikita Cuffe, Erin Douglass, Taniele Gofers, Kate Gynther, Fiona Hammond, Alicia McCormack (goal), Kelly Miller, Elise Norwood, Patrice O'Neill, Melissa Rippon (goal), Rebecca Rippon, and Mia Santoromito.

2006 FINA World League — 4th place

Gemma Beadsworth, Nicole Dyson, Suzie Fraser, Kate Gynther, Fiona Hammond, Bronwen Knox, Alicia McCormack (goal), Jane Moran, Patrice O'Neill, Melissa Rippon (goal), Rebecca Rippon, Mia Santoromito, and Sophie Smith. Head Coach: Greg McFadden.

2007 World Championship Silver medal

Gemma Beadsworth, Nikita Cuffe, Hadley Gemma, Taniele Gofers, Kate Gynther, Amy Hetzel, Bronwen Knox, Emma Knox, Alicia McCormack, Melissa Rippon, Rebecca Rippon, and Mia Santoromito. Head Coach: Greg McFadden.

2007 FINA World League — Silver medal

Lea Barta, Victoria Brown, Jemma Dessauvagie, Erin Douglas, Katie Finucane, Suzie Fraser, Kate Gynther, Gemma Hadley, Fiona Hammond, Jane Moran, Melissa Rippon, Mia Santoromito, and Larissa Webster. Head Coach: Greg McFadden.

2007 Holiday Cup — 5th place

Victoria Brown, Nikita Cuffe, Katie Finucane, Kate Gynther, Fiona Hammond, Bronwen Knox, Alicia McCormack, Sarah Mills, Jane Moran, Melissa Rippon, Rebecca Rippon, Jenna Santoromito, Mia Santoromito, and Sophie Smith. Head Coach: Greg McFadden.

2008 Summer Olympics — Bronze medal

Gemma Beadsworth, Nikita Cuffe, Suzie Fraser, Taniele Gofers, Kate Gynther, Amy Hetzel, Bronwen Knox, Emma Knox, Alicia McCormack, Melissa Rippon, Rebecca Rippon, Jenna Santoromito, and Mia Santoromito. Head Coach: Greg McFadden.