Fifteen Trojans Are In Action At FINA World Championships

The 2022 FINA World Championships are underway in Budapest, Hungary, with a crew of 15 Trojans representing five different nations in water polo. Ten of those Trojans were 2020 Olympians, and six are making their debuts on the FINA Worlds scene at the senior level with their respective countries. The competition runs June 18-July 3.

On the men's side, two members of USC's 2021 roster are appearing in their first FINA World Championships — Nic Porter (Australia) and Jake Ehrhardt (USA). For the women, fresh faces to the FINA Worlds are 2021 grads Verica Bakoc (Canada) and Denise Mammolito (USA) along with current Trojans Tilly Kearns (Australia) and Bayley Weber (USA). 

Kearns is also one of USC's 10 Olympians out at the event, including fellow Women of Troy Hayley McKelvey (Canada), silver medalist Anni Espar (Spain) and gold medalists Kaleigh Gilchrist (USA), Stephania Haralabidis (USA) and Amanda Longan (USA). For the men, the Trojan Olympians are Blake Edwards (Australia), bronze medalist Kostas Genidounias (Greece), Hannes Daube (USA) and Marko Vavic (USA).

As Trojan teammates, the USC contingent has collected a pile of NCAA Championship hardware together. Espar (Spain) and Gilchrist (USA) won the 2013 NCAA title together; Haralabidis (USA), Longan (USA) and McKelvey (Canada) claimed the 2016 championship; Porter (Australia), Daube (USA), Ehrhardt (USA) and Vavic (USA) won it all for the USC men in 2018; Mammolito (USA) joined forced with Longan and McKelvey for the 2018 crown; and most recently it Wass Mammolito, Bakoc (Canada) and Weber (USA) taking the 2021 NCAA title together. Genidounias (Greece), meanwhile, won three NCAA titles as a Trojan.

At the last FINA World Championships in 2019, USC's women filled the medal stand. The United States won gold, Spain took silver, and Australia claimed bronze.

TROJANS AT 2022 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS:

MEN
Australia
Blake Edwards$
Nic Porter*^

Greece
Kostas Genidounias$^

USA
Hannes Daube$^
Jake Ehrhardt*^
Marko Vavic$^

WOMEN
Australia
Tilly Kearns$*

Canada
Verica Bakoc*^
Hayley McKelvey$^

Spain
Anni Espar$^

USA
Kaleigh Gilchrist$^
Stephania Haralabidis$^
Amanda Longan$^
Denise Mammolito*^
Bayley Weber*^

* — first appearance at FINA World Championships
$ — Olympian
^ —  NCAA champion