BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Princeton University alumna Ashleigh Johnson will once again lead the United States Women’s National Team into the 19th FINA World Championships in Hungary, on June 20 to July 2, as the two-time Olympic Champion goalkeeper will serve as the last line of defense for the Americans at the upcoming FINA World Championships starting Monday in Hungary.
Team USA has won the last three World Championships (2015, 2017 & 2019) and six total in program history, adding gold medals in 2003, 2007 and 2009.
Team USA boasts a roster featuring seven returners from the Tokyo Olympic Games gold medal winning squad and eight returning World Champions led by Johnson and captain Maggie Steffens. Steffens and Johnson are joined by fellow returners Maddie Musselman, Rachel Fattal, Stephania Haralabidis, Kaleigh Gilchrist, Amanda Longan and Jordan Raney. Tara Prentice, Ava Johnson, Ryann Neushul, Denise Mammolito and Bayley Weber will make their World Championship debuts. Jewel Roemer and Emily Ausmus will serve as alternates. In addition, former University of Pennsylvania athlete and club coach Chris Lee will serve on the staff of head coach Adam Krikorian as the video coordinator.
The United States will open play on June 20 against South Africa before meeting the Netherlands and Argentina to close out Group B action. Live streaming of all the games will be available on the FINA Facebook page at facebook.com/fina1908. Match stats for all games will be available by CLICKING HERE.
A 2017 Princeton University alumna, Johnson, who competed for Ethnikos of the Greek league earlier this year and earned a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 in the Sports category, is among only two Tigers’ athletes ever to win an Olympic gold medal (in 2016 and 2021) and then come back to compete at Princeton (former United States Senator/men’s basketball player Bill Bradley was the other).
The recipient of the C. Otto von Kienbusch and Cutino Awards during her senior season in 2017, she was the first player in Princeton women’s water polo history to be named first team All-America and third ever to be selected All-America in each of her four seasons. Johnson finished her Princeton career with a 100-17 record, along with a school-record 1,362 saves and a .693 save percentage. She was a 19-time CWPA Defensive Player of the Week award winner, a four-time first-team all-conference player and the CWPA Player of the Year.
Johnson’s appearance at the Olympics marked the fourth time in the past four games that the United States’ cage was defended by a CWPA alumna as University of Michigan graduate and CWPA Hall of Fame member Betsey Armstrong was the goalie for the 2008 Silver Medal and 2012 Gold Medal squads.
For more information on the FINA Championships, CLICK HERE to visit the official website.
2022 FINA World Championship Schedule
- June 20 vs South Africa 9:00 a.m. Pacific/Noon Eastern
- June 22 vs the Netherlands 10:30 a.m. Pacific/1:30 p.m. Eastern
- June 24 vs Argentina 9:00 a.m. Pacific/Noon Eastern
- June 26 vs TBD (crossover round)
- June 28 vs TBD (quarterfinals)
- June 30 vs TBD (semifinals)
- July 2 vs TBD (finals)
