BERKELEY – Rising junior Claire Sonne and recent graduate Madison Tagg have been named to the U.S. National Women's Water Polo Team roster for the 2019 World University Games to be held July 2-14 in Naples, Italy.

This marks the second straight World University Games that the Bears have been represented on the team. Stefanie Mutafyan helped the Americans win the gold medal in 2017.

Tagg previously was an alternate on the U.S. team that competed in the 2017 FINA World Junior Championships.

"Getting to compete on the world stage against the best in their age group is a huge growth point for them," Cal head coach Coralie Simmons said. "It's also an opportunity to see the world and figure out how other teams and countries tick."

Tagg just completed a stellar career in Berkeley, twice earning ACWPC All-American honors and finishing sixth on the program's all-time list with 488 career saves.

Tagg is heading to Durham University in the U.K. this fall to begin a master's program in business analytics and play for the school's water polo team.

"It's really exciting and I'm happy to get the opportunity to do this," Tagg said. "This will kind of be my last hurrah as far as competitive water polo goes. It will be fun to represent Team USA and at the same time have fun playing with girls I've never played with before."

Sonne had a breakout season as a sophomore, moving into the starting lineup late in the year and scoring eight goals in the Bears' final 12 games. She finished with 15 goals, 25 assists and 11 steals.

"Getting an opportunity to represent my country is a dream come true," Sonne said. "Getting some international play under my belt will expand my game is so many ways. It will be great to be able to play with another talented group of athletes and learn from them."

Sonne's experience on the international stage figures to only boost her rate of improvement that should put her among the top players in the MPSF next season.

"I think she is only scratching the surface of where her game can go," Simmons said. "She developed a ton of confidence the last few months. She is in a place where she is ready for that next step in terms of leadership. This is just more opportunity to compete at the highest level and expand her game."

Rising junior goalie Cassidy Ball also made it through the first round of tryouts but ultimately wasn't selected to the final roster. Cal is one of four schools to have multiple players on the 13-member roster, along with USC, UCLA and UC Irvine.

"It's really exciting to have Golden Bears representing Team USA together," Sonne said. "It will be super fun to be with each other throughout training and to have each other in a new environment."