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Laguna Beach's Fischer sisters honored with USA Water Polo retirement ceremony
Makenzie Fischer was a record-setting water polo player at every stage of her career.
Her U.S. national team coach, Adam Krikorian, explained why rather succinctly.
'She could, on any moment's notice, be the best player in the world in any phase of the game,' Krikorian said. 'Whether it was defending the center, playing perimeter defense, on the counterattack, playing six-on-five, shooting from the perimeter, she could literally be the best player in the world.'
She holds the Laguna Beach High girls' water polo career scoring with 456 goals, winning two CIF Southern Section titles in 2014 and 2015. Three championships at Stanford University followed, along with Cutino Award nods in 2019 and 2022 for the nation's top collegiate women's water polo player.
Fischer is also Stanford's all-time leading scorer with 288 goals, and won Olympic gold medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics alongside her younger sister Aria to only help cement that legacy.
Both Makenzie and Aria Fischer were honored Friday night with a retirement celebration ceremony, prior to the U.S. national team playing an exhibition match against Spain at Irvine's Woollett Aquatics Center.
'I love the water polo community,' said Makenzie, 28, who actually retired back in 2022 after helping Stanford win the national championship, in a pre-match interview. 'It's been a huge part of my life. It's fun to see all of the national team girls and be reintroduced to the spirit of what I really love, which is the team aspect of everything. It's kind of fun to put a bow on everything, because water polo was a really big part of my life and something that still means a lot to me.'
She now remains in the Bay Area working as a mechanical engineer.
Aria Fischer, the 2023 Cutino winner who won three CIF championships at Laguna Beach and three NCAA titles at Stanford, was unable to be at Friday's ceremony. Makenzie said her younger sister, now 26, is working at a production company in London.
Family members present included parents Erich and Leslie. Erich Fischer, who still coaches at Laguna Beach, was a two-time national champion in water polo at Stanford himself and an Olympian in 1992.
'I think it's fun to have water polo as a common thread,' Makenzie Fischer said. 'He clearly loves it, he's still coaching. It's always been a fun part of our family. We love watching the Stanford games, the national team games. It's kind of fun to be able to transition to a new role as a spectator, have a little bit less of a front seat but still be able to talk about it with him. It's definitely something that bonds us, for sure.'
Team USA edged defending Olympic gold medalist Spain in the exhibition match that followed the ceremony, 9-8.
Jenna Flynn led the Americans with three goals, while Ryann Neushul scored the match-winning power play goal with 1:06 remaining. Goalkeeper Amanda Longan made 13 saves.
The match was the first international match of the new quad for Team USA, which finished fourth at the Paris Olympics last summer.
'We are a newer team, which is super exciting, and I think it gives us a lot of wiggle room,' said Flynn, who plays for Stanford and was a member of the Paris Olympics group last year. 'Spain is a super-talented team, and that competition between the U.S. and Spain is just really strong for as long as I've been in the water polo world. It's definitely a privilege to come here and explore with this young team, but against such good competitors.'
Laguna Beach alumna Emma Lineback had a goal, an assist and a field block for Team USA. Lineback, a left-handed attacker coming off a second-team All-American season for UCLA as a redshirt junior, was aiming for a spot on the Paris squad but was not selected.
Now, she said she has a short-term goal of making the U.S. roster for her first World Aquatics Championships next month in Singapore.
'It makes you rethink what the little wins are, because you're playing with the best of the best every day,' Lineback said of being back with the national team. 'It pushes you to work really hard, harder than you think is possible. That was kind of my motivation to come back, because I knew that I wasn't done growing. I just love this environment. It really is special. College is great, but the buy-in here is just different.'
Spain beat Team USA 7-5 on Sunday in the second of the two-match exhibition series, led by a hat trick from Paula Camus. Emily Ausmus led the Americans with a pair of goals.
Team USA opens play at the World Aquatics Championships on July 10, with a match against China.
