HONOLULU – University of Hawai'i water polo head coach Maureen Cole announced the signing of Maartje Keuning on Wednesday's fall signing day to join the Rainbow Wahine during the spring semester of the 2016-17 season.
 
"The program is excited to welcome Maartje to the Wahine 'ohana," Cole said. "She brings with her a wealth of international experience and will make an immediate impact on the program. Maartje is athletic, hard-working and a committed player who has a bright future in our program."
 
Keuning hails from Stompetoren, Holland and comes to UH as a 6-0 utility player. She has an extensive background in international competition and as a member of Dutch National Teams.
 
Beginning in 2013, Keuning has been a member of the Youth National Team, which won bronze in the 2013 Youth European Championships, and also competed in Youth World Championships in 2014 as captain of the Youth team. On the bronze-medal winning squad, she was teammates with current Rainbow Wahine sophomore Femke Aan. Keuning was also part of the first European Games in 2015, and is scheduled to compete with her team in December during the Youth World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand.
 
She has been a member of the Junior National Team since 2014, competing in the Junior European Championships that year, earning the bronze medal of the 2015 Pythia Cup, played in Junior World Championships in 2015 and most recently won the gold medal at the Junior European Championships in September. In the tournament, Keuning scored 14 goals, including one score in the gold medal game against Spain.
 
Between 2009 and 2014, Keuning competed annually in the Dutch National Championships, with her team earning the silver medal in her first year and then gold in four subsequent consecutive years.
 
Keuning will join an already-potent Rainbow Wahine squad that not only returns 2016 top scorers in sophomores Irene Gonzalez and Aan, but also the four leading scorers from the 2015 Big West Championship team – Chloe Barr, Claire Nixon, Gabi Mantellato Dias and Paula Chillida, who took redshirt seasons to compete for roster selection with their national teams. Mantellato Dias competed in the Olympics for host country Brazil. Barr was the 2015 Big West Player of the Year.