Kiley Neushul, Tiera Schroeder and Kodi Hill have won water polo titles at the club, high school and collegiate levels.
Now they can add a world championship to their resumés.
The trio of Dos Pueblos graduates helped the USA junior women’s water polo team to the gold medal at the 10th FINA World Women’s Junior Championships in Volos, Greece. The Americans defeated Spain 9-7 in the title game on Sunday and became the first three-time champion.
Neushul led the U.S. with three goals, including a clutch score with 2:39 left that gave the Americans an 8-6 lead. Spain battled back from 5-1 and 6-2 deficits and closed to within 6-5 and 7-6.
It’s been a busy summer for Neushul. She also played on the USA senior women’s team that finished fifth at the FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Spain.
At the Junior Worlds, the U.S. defeated host Greece, 10-3, in the semifinals. Hill scored a goal in 12-10 win over Hungary in the first knockout-round match. In pool play, Neushul tallied three goals and Schroeder scored her first world championship goal in a 14-4 rout of Kazakhstan; Neushul scored in an 8-5 win over Italy and put in three more during a 12-5 victory over New Zealand.
The three local players now return to college: Neushul at Stanford, Schroeder at Cal and Hill at UCLA. Neushul won a NCAA title at Stanford two years ago. At Dos Pueblos, Schroeder and Neushul won four CIF titles while Hill played on three title teams.
