You could call the USA Women’s Water Polo Team the “California Water Polo Team,” as 16 of the 17 athletes currently on the senior national roster list their hometowns in the Golden State.
But only one hails from San Diego County -- a soft spoken 21-year-old Stanford student who grew up in La Jolla, attending The Bishop’s School.
“My older sister Sally played. She was goalie for Bishops, and ever since I was little, I looked at her and thought ‘Wow, I want to do that. I really want to be in the pool,’” said Gabby Stone.
Stone finds herself in the mix for a roster spot on Team USA, which has quite an Olympic reputation.
The Americans have medaled at every Summer Olympics since women’s water polo was added as an official sport in 2000.
Coming off the first-ever gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London, the 2016 squad has several new faces and a lot of youth.
More than half the players still haven’t graduated from college.
“We want to be the best. We want to be standing on top of the podium in Rio. I mean this is what we dream about, but we also don’t talk about it that much,” said head coach Adam Krikorian.
Krikorian has the young team focused on the daily steps required to improve in the final weeks before the Olympic qualifying tournament in late March.
The final Olympic roster won’t be named until closer to the start of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.
Stone, one of three goalies on the current team, prides herself on staying in the moment.
“It’s a really humbling experience to even be able to try out for this team. There is so much talent and a lot of different personalities to make a really great group together,” said Stone.
Still, dreaming is part of what got her this far, and now the dream is closer than ever.
“Ever since eighth grade, I remember the moment when I thought ‘I want to be an Olympian,’ and I’m going to do everything I can to make that dream come true," she said.
