WAIS athletes Zoe Arancini and Glencora McGhie helped Australia to a 15-4 win over New Zealand in their opening Group C encounter at the 2013 FINA World Championships in Barcelona.
The result was never in doubt as the Olympic bronze medal winning Stingers outfit produced four quarters of quality water polo to run out 15-4 victors.
Australia’s best, Rowie Webster, began the scoring with a five metre penalty early in the first before adding another three goals to commence her campaign in style.
Fellow London Olympians Holly Lincoln-Smith and Ash Southern bagged three and two goals each as Australia’s senior contingent stood tall.
Newcomers Jayde Appel, Hannah Buckling and Keesja Gofers all struck in their first match at the FINA World Championships, while Zoe Arancini celebrated her 101st test cap with the final goal of the game.
Webster said it was a relief to secure the opening win and believed the result was a great building block for the rest of the tournament.
“We came out there with really solid defence and we knew that by building that, our attack would come so it’s a good confidence booster for the girls and we all got some good water time today,” Webster said.
Glencora McGhie echoed her teammate’s thoughts suggesting the victory was crucial ahead of the Stingers’ clutch game against China.
“It was a great start for us to the tournament. We were nervous before the start. We were playing our game and very focused on our defence. The next game against China will be very tough. It is exciting to play in this outdoor pool. It’s a beautiful day and a great start for us,” McGhie said.
Australia takes on China at 4.50pm Perth time on Tuesday July 23. The Australian men’s water polo team, the Aussie Sharks, will play their first game of the tournament against Serbia at 7.30pm Monday Perth time.
-WaterPoloAustralia
