Trojans represent water polo at University Games

Success in the pool hasn’t stopped for three Trojans who took home new hardware from Taipei at the 2017 World University Games this weekend. The women’s water polo team was well represented at the annual championships, with recent graduate Brigitta Games taking home a gold medal for the United States.

Trojans faced off against each other throughout the Games. Senior Hayley McKelvey saw action in the pool with the Canadian team, which fell to the United States in the quarterfinals. The team won its final two games in the tournament to stay alive and take fifth overall.

The finals pitted Games against former teammate Flora Bolonyai, who graduated from USC in 2013 and played in goal for Hungary at the tournament. The Americans took home the victory with a high-scoring 16-9 victory, headlined by Stanford alumni Kiley and Jamie Neushul. Bolonya took home silver along with the rest of the Hungarian team.

During the tournament, McKelvey notched seven goals across eight games played with the Canadians. She served up two goals in the team’s fifth-place victory over Australia. Games had her biggest showing against Italy, netting three goals in the team’s victory. She finished the tournament with a total of six goals, scoring a critical goal in the semifinals against Japan.

In the net, Bolonyai racked up 19 total saves over the course of eight games of action. She knocked away six saves in the team’s quarterfinal victory over France and five in the semifinals against Russia.

Each of the Trojans featured in the tournament won NCAA championships during their time at USC. Bolonyia took home NCAA MVP honors in 2013 after leading her team to an overtime national championship victory. Games and McKelvey played side-by-side to secure the team’s 2016 NCAA championship.