Bringing Water Polo to the World

HONOLULU — Usually behind the camera in her duties with the University of Hawai'i women's water polo program, Ecaterina Silisteanu will have air time on the world stage at the World Aquatics Women's Water Polo World Cup Final this week in China.
 
Silisteanu is in her third year as a student manager with the Rainbow Wahine and will spend part of the team's bye week in China working as a commentator for World Aquatics on the broadcasts from Chengdu.
 
The World Cup opens on Friday, April 18 in China (Thursday night Hawai'i Time) and runs through Sunday, April 20. Along with Silisteanu in the broadcast booth, the event will feature three former Rainbow Wahine players in the pool. Paula Prats Rodriguez (2022) is on Spain's roster and Maartje Keuning (2017-18) and Maxine Schaap (2019) are playing for the Netherlands. Keuning helped the Netherlands claim bronze at the Paris Olympics last summer. Other countries in the event are Australia, China, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Japan.
 
Streaming links for this week's World Cup matches are posted on worldaquatics.com and the games will also be broadcast throughout Europe on Eurosport.
 
"I've been doing a lot of scouting for all the teams," Silisteanu said. "These are some of the best female water polo players in the world competing this weekend, and I want to honor their hard work and achievements by highlighting their incredible stories."

This week's tournament will mark Silisteanu's second World Cup experience as a broadcaster. A former player in Romania's national program, she worked the Men's Division 1 World Cup in her hometown in Bucharest in January before returning to UH for the spring semester. 
 
Her assignments as the 'Bows' team manager include filming the games for the coaches, and with the Women's World Cup falling in the week between the end of UH's regular-season schedule and the Big West Championship, she accepted an invitation to again provide analysis for all 12 matches.
 
Following the World Cup, Silisteanu will resume her role with the fourth-ranked Rainbow Wahine, who are preparing for the Big West Championship set for April 25-27 in Irvine, Calif. UH enters the eight-team bracket as the No. 1 seed and defending champion and will be seeking a second straight berth in the NCAA Championship.
   
"The moment I moved to Hawai'i it felt like everything fell perfectly into place," said Silisteanu, who also served as a volunteer at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and is on track to graduate in December with a degree in Management and International Business. "I am so incredibly thankful for these fantastic opportunities and for all the people who support me in all my projects.
 
"I have been able to experience these top international events as an athlete, a volunteer and now a sports commentator. … I keep falling in love with sports more and more with each event, so I know my career will be closely related to this industry."