Laguna Beach, Los Al Residents Will Play U.S. Women's Water Polo

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Laguna Beach resident and Olympic gold medalist Aria Fischer was among three Orange County high schoolers on the 13-player U.S. women's water polo announced Friday that will play in next month's FINA Women's Intercontinental Tournament.

Goalkeeper Thea Walsh, a junior at Laguna Beach High School, and defender Bayley Weber, a junior at Los Alamitos High School, joined Fischer, a senior at Laguna Beach High School, on the team.

All three players were part of the U.S. team that finished fifth in December's FINA Youth World Championship.

U.S. coach Adam Krikorian was limited in his selection of the team because the FINA Women's Intercontinental Tournament takes place during the NCAA women's water polo season, leaving several players with national team experience unavailable for selection.

At 17, Fisher became the youngest American female team sport athlete to win an Olympic gold medal when she was part of the team that won gold at the Rio Games.

Fisher, a center, has signed a letter of intent to attend Stanford, where she will again be a teammate of her sister Makenzie, also a member of the 2016 Olympic gold medal-winning team.

Defender Melissa Seidemann is the only other member of the 2016 Olympic team selected for the team that will play in the FINA Women's Intercontinental Tournament. Seidemann was also a member of the 2012 Olympic gold medal-winning team.

The U.S. is scheduled to begin play in the six-team FINA Women's Intercontinental Tournament May 2 against Kazakhstan. The tournament will be held at UC Davis and conclude May 7.

Longtime Laguna Beach High School coach will be an assistant coach for the U.S. during the tournament.
The U.S. has won every major tournament since 2014 including the FINA World Championship, FINA World Cup, Pan American Games title and three FINA World League Super Final titles.

The U.S. won its final 22 games in 2016, completing the year 40-2. The FINA Women's Intercontinental Tournament will be the U.S.' first competition since the 2016 Olympics.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Photo: Adam Pretty /Getty Images Sport/ Getty Images