Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Van Brande, Wan Represent Women's Water Polo at Youth World Championships
September 22, 2014 | Women's Water Polo
PRINCETON, N.J. – It was a busy summer for members of the Princeton University women's water polo team with several players competing on the international stage.
Spending time with the United States senior women's national squad, Ashleigh Johnson helped Team USA capture gold at the 2014 Kirishi Cup and FINA World Championships. Playing for Great Britain, Pippa Temple earned a roster spot for the European Championships.
Haley Wan and Helena Van Brande also spent their fair share of time in the pool, traveling with Team USA to the FINA Youth World Championships in Madrid, Spain. From Aug. 25-31, the Princeton duo helped the youth national squad to an unblemished 6-0 record and a first-ever Youth World Championship title with victories over Hungary, South Africa, Germany, Netherlands, Greece and Canada.
Downing Hungary (14-9), South Africa (20-4) and Germany (24-4) during group play, the Americans dispatched of the Netherlands (6-4) in the quarterfinals before narrowly slipping past Greece (12-11 – SO) in the semis. Team USA closed out its remarkable run with a 5-4 triumph over Canada.
For complete results and recaps of the youth national team's FINA championship, click here. Some of Van Brande's favorite moments from the tournament can be found below:
“The entire trip was a fantastic experience and I am so grateful for having the opportunity to go. One of my favorite memories was when we all jumped into the pool (and pushed our coaches in) when the final whistle was blown, making us world champions! Going up on the podium as a team was incredible. We received our medals and the trophy, and sang our national anthem. Personally, that was an emotional moment because it was the first time I represented the United States as an American, having just recently become a naturalized citizen.
Some of my other favorite moments included our detour on the way to getting gelato and supporting our FINA representative. Although we did not have much time to sightsee, one day we were walking to the shop and passed a bakery. I just remember it smelling so good that we to stop for a pre-gelato pastry.
Our FINA representative was a volunteer student from Madrid. When she played in the water polo game for volunteers, we came out to support her and made posters and everything. We were the only team to attend the game, but it was honestly a blast. The next day we were featured in the newspaper from Madrid!”