Team USA, Halligan dominate opening day of Olympic women's water polo
All four Bruins competing in the pool Saturday earned a win.
In the opening day of preliminary round competition for women's water polo at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Team USA defeated Japan in a historic 25-4 rout, while Australia squeaked by Canada in an 8-5 win of its own. UCLA alumnae Rachel Fattal and Alys Williams were joined by current rising senior Maddie Musselman on Team USA. Musselman's classmate and fellow attacker at UCLA, Bronte Halligan, is the lone Bruin on Australia's squad.
The Americans' blowout victory was the first match of the Games and it immediately set a few new records.
Their 25 goals were the most ever in an Olympic match, blowing the previous record of 16 out of the water. Four of those goals came courtesy of Musselman, who has taken the last two seasons off at UCLA to prepare for Tokyo. She was one of four Americans who scored four or more goals Saturday, and her 19:24 in the pool ranked second on the team.
Musselman shot 4-of-7, with one of her goals coming via a penalty shot that put Team USA up 4-3 in the first quarter. She scored again less than a minute later, sparking a 22-1 run to end the match.
Fattal and Williams were also in the starting lineup alongside the high-scoring Musselman. Fattal scored in the third quarter to make it 17-3 and won 3-of-4 sprints. Williams attempted three shots but wasn't able to find the back of the net.
Adam Krikorian – who was part of 15 NCAA championship teams in men's and women's water polo as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach at UCLA – is the Americans' head coach.
Team USA also set the Olympic record for largest margin of victory in the match, but both that and the goals scored record were broken just a few hours later when Spain defeated South Africa 29-4.
The next match featured one Bruin rather than three, but this time, her production was the deciding factor.
Halligan posted a hat trick in Australia's three-goal win over Canada. She led her team in both goals and shots, and her 26:11 in the pool was second-most among Aussies.
The opening goal of the match came via Halligan less than two minutes in and her second broke a 1-1 tie in the second quarter. Her third and final goal put Australia up by three with less than two minutes to play in the third. The Australians never trailed, thanks in large part to Halligan's success.
Halligan, like Musselman, wasn't in the pool with the Bruins the past two years due to her Olympic training. The last time they competed for UCLA, the duo combined for 95 goals and 71 assists in the 2019 campaign.
Team USA is competing in Group B while Australia is one of five countries in Group A. If the trio of American Bruins were to face off against Halligan, it wouldn't happen until the women's quarterfinals begin Aug. 2.
Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @SI_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @SI.AllBruins