The U.S. women's water polo team came to Paris as the three-time defending Olympic gold medalists and the 2024 world champions.
Team USA wasted no time getting to work towards a record fourth straight gold, opening the 2024 Olympics with a decisive 15-6 win over Greece.
The Americans led 3-0 at the end of the first quarter, and scored six goals in the second for a 9-2 halftime lead.
“It was a really good start," said U.S. coach Adam Krikorian. "I was so pleased with our composure in the biggest moments. I thought we were very controlled and everything looked good today."
Nine different players scored for the U.S. in the win. Jenna Flynn led the way with four goals on six shots. Maggie Steffens - the all-time leading scorer in Olympic women's water polo - added two goals. Jovana Sekulic and Tara Prentice also had two goals each.
“When we’re playing well and we get the momentum going like that, we’re pretty tough to beat. It was a very team-oriented performance and that’s when we are at our best," Krikorian added.
“I was incredibly impressed by our younger players. They've just improved so much in the past year, and they're a big reason why we have a shot here during this tournament."
Greece finished fourth at the most recent World Championships, earning a berth for the Paris Games as the best finisher at worlds that had not yet qualified. The Greece women's team is playing in its first Olympics since 2008, when it finished eighth.
“We played against the most experienced team in the tournament, but that is no excuse for this result," said Greece coach Alexia Anna Kammenou. “The first day, it's always strange, and this team hasn't been at the Olympics for some years... We have to forget this game, we have to go on. We are just starting."
The U.S. team (1-0) will face a tough test on the second day of competition when they take on Spain on Monday, July 29, at 9:35 a.m. ET in a rematch of the Tokyo gold medal game.
“We know it's just one game and there's still an entire tournament to go,” Krikorian said.
Greece (0-1) will get a day off and will next play Spain on Wednesday, July 31, at 2:05 p.m. ET.
"I have faith in my team. I believe in our work," Kammenou said. "I just said to them, ‘This is only the beginning. We will work out our faults and we move on’."