Hungary, Italy Go 4-0 in Women’s Water Polo Pool Play at World University Games

World University Games Water Polo

• July 2-14, 2019
• Naples, Italy
• Time: UTC +2; 6 hours earlier than ET
• 10 Teams Per Gender
• Preview
• Results

After six days of pool play, the six teams per gender are through to the quarterfinal round, while the remaining four will face off for the final two spots on Tuesday.

Women
On the women’s side,  Hungary cruised through Pool A with four victories, outscoring its foes 73-22. In Pool B, Italy squeaked past opponents 37-31, including two one-goal results to go 4-0.

Also advancing through Pool A were Canada (3-1) and Japan (2-2), while Russia (3-1) and Australia (2-2) were second and third in Pool B.

Pool A

• Hungary 4-0
• Canada 3-1
• Japan 2-2
• France 1-3
• Czech Republic 0-4

Pool B

• Italy 4-0
• Russia 3-1
• Australia 2-2
• USA 1-3
• China 0-4

The top individual goal scorers during the pool play round came from:

• Czech Republic: Karolina Hlavata (11 goals)
• Italy: Chiara Ranalli (11), Sara Centanni (10)
• France: Morgane LeRoux (10)
• Hungary: Vivien Kovesdi, Zsuzsanna Mathe (10 apiece)
• Japan: Yuri Kazama (10)

The top individual match efforts were:

• Hungary saw captain Vivien Kovesdi put in four goals in its 17-3 win over France.
• Abrielle Hill scored four times in the United States’ 10-9 loss to Russia.
• Morgane LeRoux scored five times for France, but it was not enough in a 17-10 loss to Japan, which also featured a four-goal effort by Yuri Kazama.
•  11 players scored for Hungary in its 22-5 win over the Czech Republic, led by Zsuzsanna Mathe‘s four-goal effort.
• Czech captain Karolina Hlavata led all scorers with four goals in a 15-9 loss to Japan.
• Russia’s Elizaveta Zaplatina poured in five goals, while Alina Inogamova put in four as Russia topped Australia 17-7.
• Four players turned in four goals efforts in an 11-10 decision between Italy and China. Chiara Ranalli and Sara Centanni led the way for the victorious Italians, while Jiawen Li and Jiayu Huang were the top scorers for China.
• Valeria Rojas notched five goals for Canada among nine multi-goal scorers in a 23-8 win over the Czech Republic. Hlavata put in four goals for the Czechs.
• Bayley Weber, Denise Mammolito and Val Ayala scored four goals apiece in the USA’s lone pool play win, a 14-11 victory over China. Jing Yan chipped in four scores for China.
• Ranalli paced Italy with four goals in a 9-7 win over Australia.
• LeRoux added five goals to her tally for Canada as the team topped the Czech Republic 16-7.
• Italy built a 7-3 lead in the first half against Russia and held on despite being outscored 5-2 in the final two periods of the 9-8 victory.

Women’s Pool Play Results

Upcoming Slate

China, Czech Republic, France and the USA will face off in a pair of Round of 16 matches on Tuesday with the winners each earning a spot in Wednesday’s quarterfinals. The French and Chinese will meet in Match 1, while the Czechs and Americans will play in the second match. The winners will play Canada or Russia in the quarters.