BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Indiana University alumnae Jessica Gaudreault and Shae (Fournier) La Roche were nominated by Water Polo Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee to the roster of the Team Canada women’s water polo team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organizations.
A two-time Olympian (2020 Tokyo) and a 2014 graduate of Indiana, La Roche is among the most decorated players in Hoosiers’ water polo history. The former Hoosiers’ standout holds the top two school records for single-season goals (95 in 2014, 83 in 2013) and career goals (305), and rates second in IU history in career steals (311). She was the 2014 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Player of the Year, and earned second team Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-America and College Sport Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) First-Team Academic All-America honors. La Roche is one of five players in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) history to score 300 or more goals in her career.
The Most Valuable Player of the 2014 CWPA Championship hosted by Bucknell University for leading the Hoosiers to an 11-10 victory over Princeton University, La Roche is among a select group of Indiana women’s water polo players who won a pair of league titles during their tenure. In 2011 as a freshman, La Roche helped her squad down the University of Michigan, 5-3, at home in Bloomington for the program’s first title since taking home the 2003 crown.
A first-time Olympian and a 2019 Indiana graduate Gaudreault competed at an elite international level, including multiple World Championships and Pan Am games for Team Canada. The Olympics appearance marks her second as a potential member of the Canada squad – but first as an athlete – as she served as an alternate for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Canadian had a decorated career with the Hoosiers, graduating with the second-most saves (995) and shots faced (2,182) in program history. Gaudreault was an honorable mention ACWPC All-America as a senior as well as a four-time CWPA All-Conference First Team member.
Paris 2024 will mark the fourth time since women’s water polo made its Olympic debut at Sydney 2000 that Canada will compete in the Olympic tournament. After participating in the first two women’s Olympic water polo tournaments at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, there was a long wait before Team Canada made its return at Tokyo 2020. The team’s best result was during the sport’s debut in Australia, where the Canadian women finished fifth.
