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
The water polo quarterfinals field for the World University Games is set after four Round of 16 matches, two per gender, on Tuesday.
The victors earned a spot to join the final eight alongside the top three finishers in each of two pools per gender.
Men
The USA, Russia and France had already earned their spots in the quarters out of Pool A, while Italy, Hungary and Croatia were in out of Pool B.
That left Great Britain to face Japan and Korea to face Australia for the final two quarterfinal berths.
Japan outscored Great Britain 9-2 in the opening period and held on for the 18-10 victory. Captain Kiyomu Date found the back of the net eight times to pace the Japanese, while Daniel Paddon put in five goals across the pool.
Australia punched its ticket to the quarterfinals, topping Korea 21-4 with help from nine goal scorers, including four score efforts by Nicholas Elphick and James Gillfeather and hat tricks by Angus Lambie and Sam Nangle.
Australia has a quick turnaround, earning a matchup with a Russia in the opening quarterfinal match on Wednesday. Japan, meanwhile, will face Hungary. On Thursday, Great Britain and Korea will play in the 9th/10th place game.
- 13:30 – Russia vs. Australia
- 15:30 – USA vs. Croatia
- 17:30 – Hungary vs. Japan
- 19:30 – France vs. Italy
Women
Hungary, Canada and Japan earned the first three quarterfinal spots from Pool A, while Italy, Russia and Australia punched their tickets by posting the top three finishes in Pool B.
That left China, Czech Republic, France and the USA to face off in a pair of Round of 16 matches on Tuesday.
China bounced France to the 9th/10th place match with a 12-1 victory, pouring on 11 goals over the final three periods. Yanan Bi and Jiayu Huang notched hat tricks in the win.
The Americans meanwhile grabbed a 5-1 lead in the first quarter and turned up the heat, outscoring the Czechs 10-0 in the second stanza, part of a 20-4 domination down the stretch to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. 10 players scored for Team USA in the 25-5 victory, led by Bayley Weber’s tournament leading eight goals. Piper Smith and Ava Johnson chipped in hat tricks for the victors, while captain Karolina Hlavata managed four of the Czech Republic’s five goals.
Ahead on Wednesday, the USA will face continental rival Canada to lead off quarterfinal action, while China will now face Russia. France and the Czech Republic will play in the 9th/10th place match on Thursday.
- 13:30 – Canada vs. USA
- 15:30 – Hungary vs. Australia
- 17:30 – Russia vs. China
- 19:30 – Japan vs. Italy
