BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — A pair of Princeton University Tigers will aim to bring another women’s water polo world championship back to the United States as alumna Ashleigh Johnson ’17 and Jovana Sekulic are among 15 American athletes selected for competition at the upcoming 2024 World Aquatics Women’s Water Polo Championship. Slated for February 2-18 in Doha, Qatar, the championship will pit the United States against some of the world’s best teams in a potential preview of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Team USA has been drawn into Group A where the action begins Sunday, February 4 when the United States opens play against the Netherlands at 8:00 a.m. Pacific/11:00 a.m. Eastern. They’ll also meet Brazil and Kazakhstan in group play.
A complete schedule for the event is available by CLICKING HERE. Live streaming of the World Championships will be available on NBC Sports and Peacock (login required).
The USA Women’s National Team has won gold at seven World Championships (2003, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022) and most recently claimed fifth place at the 2023 event in Fukuoka, Japan. While this event will serve as a qualifier for the 2024 Olympic Games, Team USA has already qualified following their gold medal win at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Johnson and Sekulic will aim to improve on the Americans’ last international championship appearance as the squad placed fifth at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships hosted in Fukuoka, Japan, during the month of July 2023.
An All-America selection every season she competed at Princeton, Johnson led the United States to the gold medal in women’s water polo at the 2016 Rio and 2020/2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, becoming just the fifth Princeton athlete to ever win multiple gold medals.
Named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 in the Sports category and a 2017 Princeton graduate, Johnson is among only two Tigers’ athletes ever to win an Olympic gold medal (in 2016) 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.
The 2022 CWPA Rookie of the Year and 2023 Most Valuable Player, Sekulic recently wrapped a sophomore season that saw her earn All-America status after she led the team with 76 goals and 93 drawn ejections, producing 14 hat tricks and 24 contests with at least two drawn ejections. She, along with 2023 CWPA Rookie of the Year/goalkeeper Lindsey Lucas (Fr., Orinda, Calif./Miramonte), were the first players in program history to be named to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship All-Tournament First-Team after scoring two goals and drawing six ejections in the Tigers’ two NCAA games.
The duo are among three former/current CWPA student-athletes in the Team USA traveling party as the pair join 2011 University of Maryland graduate/former Terrapins’ water polo standout Allison Beck who will serve as the squad’s Team Manager.
A 2011 CWPA Southern Division Second Team All-Conference selection and the 2011 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Women’s Water Polo Championship Most Valuable Player, the Mission Viejo, Calif., native and Santa Margarita Catholic alumnus totaled 125 goals, 51 assists, 63 steals and 118 drawn kickouts in 130 games as a Terrapin during the 2008-11 seasons.
For more information on the 2024 World Aquatics World Championships, CLICK HERE.
2024 World Aquatics World Championships Schedule (subject to change)
February 4 – vs. Netherlands – 8:00 a.m. Pacific/11:00 a.m. Eastern
February 6 – vs. Brazil – 9:30 a.m. Pacific/12:30 p.m. Eastern
February 8 – vs. Kazakhstan – 6:30 a.m. Pacific/9:30 p.m. Eastern
February 10 – Crossover Round
February 12 – Quarterfinal Round
February 14 – Semifinal Round
February 16 – Final Round
