Two Sun Devils Invited to Train With Water Polo Canada

In an Instagram post made Thursday morning, the NCAA Water Polo announced that two Sun Devils, Alison Cameron and Blaire McDowell, were among 24 student-athletes selected by the Water Polo Canada National Team to train at the National Training Center in Montreal as a part of their National Team Program. 

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With the pandemic's pause on athletics for student-athletes, WPC has started this program, set to run from September 21, 2020 to December 2020, to support players who could not play with their schools, and allow the student-athletes to further develop their level of play. Players will be getting the experience to share the pool with the Senior Women's National Team, who will act as their mentors and guest coaches.

"I'm very honoured to be one of the athletes selected for the NextGen program and I feel extremely lucky being able to train amongst some of Canada's best up-and-coming players. Studying online this semester in Montreal gives me the opportunity to learn a lot about myself as a student athlete and will give me the chance to find organizational strategies that promote my success," noted sophomore attacker Alison Cameron as she prepares to start training with her future teammates in Montreal.  

Cameron, who had 17 goals and 30 points during her freshman season with the Sun Devils is no stranger to Team Canada. As a captain, she led Team Canada in 2017 to a bronze medal at the Youth Women's Pan-American Championships in Lima, Peru. In 2018, the team finished 10th at the World Women's Youth Water Polo Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. 

Her teammate, junior attacker Blaire McDowell also added, " " as she has plans to head to Montreal at a later date while she trains at ASU this Fall. 

With 14 goals and 29 points during her sophomore campaign with the Sun Devils, McDowell also has prior experience with Team Canada, as she was Named the U19 MVP at the Canadian Nationals, and was the youngest athlete to be named to Water Polo Canada's roster for the 2017 FINA World Women's Junior Water Polo Championships.

Head coach Todd Clapper is excited for his student-athletes, and feels this opportunity is