BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Former Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) student-athletes Hanna Muller (Lindenwood University), Shae (Fournier) La Roche (Indiana University), Bronwen Knox (Hartwick College), Amy Ridge (University of Michigan) and Abby Andrews (University of Michigan) along with incoming freshman Boati Motau (Bucknell University) continued play for South Africa, Canada and Australia as Group A and B action concluded at the 2020/2021 Olympics in Tokyo on Sunday, August 1.
Statistics from the Olympic Games competition at the Tatsumi Water Polo Centre are available by CLICKING HERE.
Netherlands 16, Canada 12 (Shae La Roche)
Former Indiana University standout Shae (Fournier) La Roche shot one-for-five with a man-up goal in 24:34 of action as Canada suffered a 16-12 setback versus the Netherlands to conclude Group A competition.
Canada, which previously fell to Australia (8-5 L, July 24) and Spain (14-10 L, July 26) prior to turning back South Africa (21-1, July 28) concludes Group A with a 1-3 record, while the Netherlands improves to 3-1 with victories over Spain (14-13 W), Canada and South Africa (33-1 W) to go along with a setback versus Australia (15-12 L).
The win and loss establish the seeding for the semifinals as Canada will meet Group B Champion the United States and former Princeton University goalie Ashleigh Johnson at 2:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, August 3. Canada placed fourth in Group A behind group champion Spain (3-1), Australia (3-1) and the Netherlands (3-1), while the United States won the Group B crown with a 3-1 mark to outdistance Hungary (2-1-1), ROC (Russian Olympic Committee) (2-1-1), China (2-2) and Japan (0-4). Hungary held a head-to-head win over the United States, but China shocked the Hungarians via an 11-9 upset to hand the group title to the Americans.
In other quarterfinal play, Spain battles China (3:30 p.m.), the Netherlands faces Hungary (6:20 p.m.) and Australia meets the ROC (7:50 p.m.).
La Roche, who connected on a man-up chance with three seconds left in the first quarter to knot the game at three-all versus the Netherlands, previously played 16:05 and connected on two-of-six shots versus South Africa. She earlier was held without a shot in 18:32 of playing time facing Australia, and registered a pair of extra-player tallies in 27:55 against Spain as Fournier now has five goals in the Tokyo Olympics.
About Shae La Roche: 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 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.
She had an impressive junior international career, winning gold medals at the 2008 and 2010 Pan American Junior Championships to go with a sixth place finish at the 2009 FINA World Junior Championships. At the senior level, she competed in two FINA World Championships (2015, 2017) and captured a silver medal at the 2017 FINA World League Super Final. She also helped Canada win silver at the 2015 Pan American Games. She has made two appearances at the Summer Universiade, just missing the podium with fourth place finishes in both 2009 and 2013. She made her senior international debut in 2014, competing in the FINA Water Polo World League.
Australia 14, South Africa 1 (Hanna Muller, Boati Motau, Bronwen Knox, Abby Andrews, Amy Ridge)
Former University of Michigan athletes Abby Andrews and Amy Ridge along with Hartwick College Hall of Fame member Bronwen Knox combined to shoot three-for-seven as Australia wrapped up Group A action with a 14-1 defeat of South Africa.
Andrews shot one-for-three from the field in 14:45 of playing time with a man-up tally. Previously she scored once in Australia’s 8-5 opening game victory over Canada on Saturday, July 24, prior to netting a hat-trick with three goals in a 15-12 defeat of the Netherlands on Monday, July 26. Further, she finished one-for-one from the field with a power-play tally in 18:48 versus Spain in a 15-9 loss on Friday, July 30, to now stand with six goals in the Olympics.
Knox – who scored once in the win over Canada, twice versus the Netherlands and once more facing Spain – was held without a shot against South Africa in 13:24. Further, Ridge – who scored once versus the Netherlands – connected on two-of-four scoring chances versus South Africa in 10:52 of action by putting away tallies on the attack and the counterattack. All three players have come off the bench for Australia to date in the games.
Overall, Australia never trailed in the game jumping out to a 1-0 margin by the conclusion of the first quarter and inflating the margin to 7-1 by halftime. South Africa was unable to come back as Australia outscored its foe 4-0 and 3-0 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively, to wrap-up the victory.
Australia, which finishes second in Group A due to tiebreakers versus Spain and the Netherlands as all three teams posted 3-1 marks, will next be in action on Tuesday, August 3, versus ROC (Russian Olympic Committee) at 7:50 p.m. local time. In addition, the United States meets Canada (2:00 p.m.), Spain battles China (3:30 p.m.) and the Netherlands faces Hungary (6:20 p.m.).
For South Africa, incoming Bucknell University recruit Boati Motau did not appear in the game, while former Lindenwood University athlete Hanna Muller shot zero-for-one in 28:08.
South Africa concludes the games with an 0-4 mark in Group A following an earlier 29-4 loss to Spain on Saturday, July 24, a 21-1 setback versus Canada on Wednesday, July 28, and a 33-1 defeat by the Netherlands on Friday, July 30. The defeat concludes South Africa’s trip to Japan as the team places 10th with Japan finishing 9th in the 10 team field.
Overall, Motau played 39:04 during the Olympics with five shots, while Muller fired five shots in 91:48.
About Boati Motau: Motau will join the Bucknell program after a decorated career at the Roedean School in South Africa. Motau was named the 2020 Sports Woman of the Year, while earning Full Colours in both field hockey and water polo (Varsity letters) in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Motau earned First Team All-State accolades while helping the Roedean School to a third-place National finish in 2020.
A three-sport athlete at the school in water polo, field hockey, and swimming, Motau has represented the South African squad at youth level since 2018, helping the U17 team to a second-place showing at the EU Nations Water Polo Cup in 2019. Motau was also the team captain in both field hockey and water polo at Roedean in 2019-20, helping the water polo squad to two straight top-three finishes ad the Old Mutual Prestige Cup.
About Hanna Muller: A two-time Women’s Collegiate Club All-America selection at Lindenwood, Muller previously represented her homeland at the 2018 FINA Women’s World Cup in Surgut, Russia.
Muller, who competed for Lindenwood in 2018 and 2019, is the lone former/current collegiate club player believed to be competing at the 2021 Olympics, Muller earned All-Midwest Division First Team honors as a sophomore in 2019 to accompany All-America Second Team status. Muller also helped Midwest Division Champion Lindenwood earn a Fifth Place finish at the 2019 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by the University of Notre Dame earned All-Tournament Second Team laurels.
As a freshman in 2018, she claimed positions on the All-America and Midwest Division All-Conference Second Teams following a season in which she led Midwest Division Champion Lindenwood with 59 goals to accompany 34 assists and 61 steals. A National Collegiate Club Championship All-Tournament Second Team selection, she scored 10 goals in four games to help Lindenwood finish in Fourth Place at the event hosted by the University of Washington at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Ore.
About Amy Ridge: Ridge competed for Michigan during the 2016 as a freshman. In 38 games, she tallied 20 goals and 10 assists and helped the Wolverines claim the 2016 CWPA Championship and a Fourth Place mark at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.
About Bronwen Knox: The captain of the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Australia Olympic Women’s Water Polo teams and a two-time Olympic Bronze Medalist (2008, 2012), Knox is the only player in the history of the Hartwick College women’s water polo program to earn second team All-America honors from the ACWPC. She helped guide the Hawks to a record of 56-20, two CWPA Northern Division titles, a CWPA Eastern crown and a sixth-place finish at the 2006 NCAA Division I Championship during her two seasons in Oneonta, N.Y.
Following her freshman campaign in 2005, she was the CWPA Northern and Eastern Championship Rookie of the Year, a first team CWPA Northern and Eastern selection, and was an ACWPC Honorable Mention All-America selection. In 2006, Knox led the country in scoring with 127 tallies and was later named Most Valuable Player of both the Northern Division and Eastern Championships. She also earned ACWPC All-Academic team honors and received second team All-America accolades.
A 2012 inductee to the Hartwick Hall of Fame, she totaled 229 goals, 57 assists, 286 points, 209 steals as a member of the Hawks, including program single-season record 127 goals and 117 steals in 2006.
About Abby Andrews: Andrews competed for Michigan during the 2019 season and registered 57 goals, 71 assists and 47 steals with a 41-for-50 mark in sprints in the span of 32 games. A member of the 2019 CWPA Champion Wolverines, she claimed CWPA Rookie of the Year and ACWPC Honorable Mention All-America honors during her lone season in Ann Arbor. A 2019 CWPA All-Conference Second Team pick, she received Rookie of the Tournament and First Team All-Tournament recognition at the CWPA Championship prior to helping the Maize & Blue reach the NCAA Championship quarterfinals.
