Leonardi Leads USA into Youth Worlds
12/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Dec. 1, 2016
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan water polo head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi will look to lead Team USA to a strong showing at the FINA Youth World Championships Dec. 12-18 in Auckland, New Zealand.
Leonardi along with Michigan freshman goalkeeper Heidi Ritner and U-M signee Maddy Johnston will travel with Team USA to Australia for a week-long pre-competition training camp before heading to New Zealand for the competition.
"It is always a privilege to compete at the highest level representing your country," said Leonardi. "We marked this date on the calendar, and now it is exciting to see how our work can come together."
Held at the AUT Millennium, the home of high-performance sport in New Zealand, the games will start on Monday, Dec. 12, in New Zealand. Team USA will open against Japan at 12:10 p.m. NZDT, which is 6:10 p.m. EST, on Sunday, Dec. 11, in Ann Arbor. USA then takes on Greece at 12:10 p.m. NZDT on Dec. 13 and China at 9:30 a.m. NZDT on Dec. 14 to wrap up the Group C games.
"I am very excited," said Ritner. "It has been a goal of mine for a while but has always been in the distance so I can't believe it is here."
With Youth Worlds falling during Michigan's finals period, Ritner has had to juggle some things academically, but the effort she puts in with water polo is consistent with her effort in the classroom. She has turned in several projects early, but will also be having an exam proctored while she is in Australia as well as an essay due.
"I have had to put in some extra hours with my professors," said Ritner. "I have tried to get ahead of everything so I am in a good place right now."
Ritner has put in extra work throughout the fall of her freshman year. She has given up a couple of chances to join her teammates at Michigan football games in order to travel back to California with her coach to train with Team USA. Now that the time has come she wants to enjoy the experience but also look to improve her game.
"I want to work on my leadership skills," said Ritner. "As the oldest one on the team I want to have a bigger voice. I also want to prove to myself that I can play at that level."
The first FINA World Women's Youth Water Polo Championships for Leonardi took place in Madrid in 2014 with the U.S. winning back-to-back one-goal games over Greece and Canada for the gold medal. It was the third overall women's youth world championships and first gold medal for Team USA.
"Going through my first Youth World's run, everything was new and unknown," said Leonardi. "This year, we know what to expect and how to prep for it. The one difference is it is in December instead of August. Through preparation and experience we hope to defend our title."
In 2015, Ritner and Johnston helped set the stage for this tournament. As members of the USA Women's Cadet National Team, they lead the U.S. to a gold medal 9-7 victory over Canada at the UANA Youth Pan American Championship in Kingston, Jamaica. Ritner was named MVP of the tournament, while Johnston had two goals in a semifinal win over Brazil. The gold medal helped them qualify for this year's Youth World's.
In 2016, the Michigan contingent looks to play a big role in how Team USA finishes at the FINA Youth World Championships.
Communications Contact: Ben Blevins
