BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Indiana University alumni Jessica Gaudreault and Shae (Fournier) La Roche are among 15 women who have been selected to represent Team Canada at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships with the objective of securing one of the last two spots available for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games women’s water polo tournament. The 2024 World Aquatics Championships will be held February 2-18 in Doha, Qatar.
A 2014 graduate of Indiana, La Roche (2011-2014) is one of the most decorated players in Hoosiers’ water polo history. She holds the top two school records for single-season goals (95 in 2014, 83 in 2013) and career goals (305), and is 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 2019 graduate of Indiana, Gaudreault has competed at an elite international level, including multiple World Championships and Pan Am games for Team Canada, and 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.
In order to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at these 2024 World Aquatics Championships, the Canadian Team will have to be one of the top two teams among those that have not already qualified for the Olympic Games. This will represent the last qualification event and opportunity for the team heading towards the Paris Olympic Games. The women’s teams that have already qualified are: Australia, China, France, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain and the United States. One additional country will also qualify at the 2024 European Championships, to be held January 5-13.
At the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, Canada will be in Group 4 with Italy, South Africa and a European country to be determined following the European Championships. The group stage schedule for the Canadian team will be as follows:
-February 4: South Africa
-February 6: European country to be confirmed
-February 8: Italy
Before the Championships, the Canadian Team will travel to California for a training camp with the Untied States Women’s National Team. Team Canada will then fly to Brisbane to continue its preparation with Team Australia. The Untied States and Australia have both already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games women’s water polo tournament.
