BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Didi Evans (So., Corona del Mar, Calif./Corona del Mar) of Princeton University and Synnove Robinson (Fr., Honolulu, Hawai’i/Punahou) of Harvard University will unite as the duo are among 14 athletes – including nine collegiate varsity competitors – selected to the United States Women’s Junior National Team roster for the 2026 PanAm Aquatics U19 Water Polo Championships in Bauru, Brazil, on September 28-to-October 4.
Live streaming of all matches will be available at PanAmAquaticsPlay.com and live statistics for every game can be found at 6-8 Sports. More information can be found on the PanAm Aquatics website.
The 2026 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Rookie of the Year, the CWPA Championship Rookie of the Tournament, CWPA Championship All-Tournament Honorable Mention and a CWPA All-Conference Second Team selection, Evans appeared in 30 games with 29 starts in helping Princeton to a runner-up finish in the CWPA last year. She led the Tigers in points (126) and assists (81) as her 81 assist output tied the school single-season record established by Rachael Carver ’25 in 2025. In addition, she holds the Princeton single game assists record as she handed out eight helpers with four goals to factor in 12 goals during a 21-7 victory at home in DeNunzio Pool on January 31, 2026.
Robinson joins the 2025 and 2026 CWPA Champion Crimson after earning Hawai’i State All-Tournament Team selection three times. The Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) leading scorer in 2024 and 2025 and a three-time ILH All-Conference honoree (2024, 2025, 2026), she was named the ILH Player of the Year in 2025 to accompany state championship Player of the Tournament laurels.
On the bench, Brown University women’s head coach Jaclyn Puccino will serve as an assistant coach on the staff of head coach Ethan Damato.
Named the Head Coach for Women’s Water Polo at Brown on June 6, 2025, she led the Bears to a fourth place finish in the CWPA Championship during her inaugural season at the helm of the program.
A former assistant coach at the University of Southern California (2025), Puccino also spent six seasons at Harvard, serving as a coach of both the Crimson women’s and men’s programs. Puccino joined the Crimson staff as an assistant in 2018 and was elevated to associate head coach in 2023. During her time in Cambridge, Harvard teams posted a combined eight 20-win seasons, including the Crimson women’s first-ever conference championship game appearance in 2022 and a 2019 NCAA appearance for the Harvard men.
Puccino began her coaching career with the Palomar College women’s program, earning Pacific Coast Athletic Conference (PCAC) Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2016. She spent a year as the women’s head coach at San Diego Mesa College, winning the 2017 PCAC title and her third PCAC Coach of the Year nod.
As a player, Puccino earned All-America First Team honors at Palomar College before going on to Marist College, where she earned a degree in psychology in 2012. Puccino also holds a master’s degree in physical education from Azusa Pacific University.
In addition to the athletes and coaches selected, Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA)/Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC)/Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) official Stephanie Villalobos will serve as the United States referee for the event.
2026 United States Women’s Junior National Team (2026 PanAm Aquatics U19 Water Polo Championships)
Ellison Brush (Hillsborough, Calif./University of Southern California/Stanford WPC)
Eden Coughran (Bakersfield, Calif./Garces Memorial HS/Clovis WPC)
Teodora Diaconu (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich Academy/Greenwich Aquatics)
Didi Evans (Corona del Mar, Calif./Princeton University/SET WPC)
Julia Gustafsson (Greenwich, Conn./University of California/Greenwich Aquatics)
Delaney Hook (Newport Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS/Regency WPC)
EJ Hourigan (Newport Beach, Calif./University of Southern California/SOCAL)
Madison Mack (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS/Newport Beach WPC)
Maci Magee (Las Vegas, Nev./Arizona State University/Team Vegas Water Polo)
Lexi Nelson (Menlo Park, Calif./University of California/Stanford WPC)
Katherine O’Dea (Long Beach, Calif./University of California-Los Angeles/Long Beach AF)
Harper Price (Newport Beach, Calif./University of California/Newport Beach WPC)
Synnove Robinson (Honolulu, Hawaii/Harvard University/Oahu WPC)
McKenna Stuart (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos HS/Santa Barbara WPC)
Women’s Junior National Team Staff
Head Coach: Ethan Damato
Asst Coach: Jaclyn Puccino
Asst. Coach: Carlee Kapana
Team Lead: Jacob Pril
ATC: Meghann McCall O’Dell
Referee: Stephanie Villalobos
Women’s Junior National Team Schedule
September 28: USA vs Mexico – 11:00 a.m. Pacific/2:00 p.m. Eastern
September 29: USA vs Canada – Noon Pacific/3:00 p.m. Eastern
September 30: USA at Brazil – 3:00 p.m. Pacific/6:00 p.m. Eastern
October 1: USA vs Mexico – Noon Pacific/3:00 p.m. Eastern
October 2: USA vs Canada – Noon Pacific/3:00 p.m. Eastern
October 3: USA at Brazil – 6:30 a.m. Pacific/9:30 a.m. Eastern
October 3: TBD
October 4: TBD
